A Sorcerer's Science
by Literature work
Summary: Hogwarts needs a new class in their curriculem, and Dumbledore choses nothing other than Alchemy. But After getting Edward Elric as a teacher, the school is in for a couple of surprises. Can Edward handle his students and another killer on the loose? Multiple years. Please review and read the notes. Story statuses on profile if you want to know how I am doing on latest chapters.
1. Precautions and neccesities

Sorcerer's Science

**Okay before we begin, I would like to say that this is taking after the Brotherhood/manga aspect of FMA. this story will also deal with the multiple years at hogwarts. i wanted to start with year two, but couldn't find enough material. Okay, another note. i will be mixing up the FMA timeline a bit in order to keep it matched with the Harry Potter time line. All major aspects however will still be in effect and it will be fine. trust me. Now with that said I would like to give a couple words before you dive into the story, Piggle wiggle Top!**

CHAPTER 1

Precautions and Necessities

There was an eerie silence that filled the business offices that day. Other than the rapid scratching of quills and the stamping of documents, the Ministry of Magic stood in its solitary banishment. All of the hundreds of workers walked around with their lips tight and their eyes darting in fear, only on occasion did any words leave their mouths or did they make any other sign of contact to the outside world. It was all the poor office workers could do about the recent events fully described out of context in the Daily Prophet, the Escape of Sirius Black. That grim article put everyone in the wizarding world on edge, especially the Minister himself. Askaban was supposed to be impenetrable. Now the entire Ministry was trying to cover up their little mistake and run the government of the collapsing wizarding world as well. Dumbledore felt the tension in the offices that he walked through and didn't like it one bit, not that it would change his optimistic outlook on life, but it sure was to say the least, a depressing environment. Albus had work to do in the Ministry for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in which he was the headmaster of. All of the teachers needed to be checked by the education board to make sure they were still suitable for their positions, and the curriculum needed to be reviewed to make sure it followed state regulations, which were recently change as of the end of the prior school year. The entire faculty, including the groundskeeper, Hagrid, and the Custodian, Filch, lined up behind separate department desks to fill out the endless pile of paperwork that lay ahead of them. Albus Dumbledore took his own lead into the Minister's office. There, they needed to talk about a more delicate subject.

"Ahh, Welcome Proffessor!" the merry man said behind his large mahogany desk. The room was circular like any self-respecting government official would have, and had three large gothic style windows hanging on the opposite wall which let streams of silver sunshine run light up the entire room. It was complete irony however, that the building laid several stories below the earth and that the sunlight that shone in Dumbledore's eyes did not fit the mood one bit. But however grim the events of the world may be, or however long the run it was, the minister had the gift to turn the other cheek and provide a better outlook on the case. To Dumbledore, this was his biggest flaw, for it usually wasn't optimism, but ignorance that ran through the minister's head. Fudge gleamed at him in the shimmering light as Albus took his seat in the chair opposite of the desk.

"Good evening Dumbledore, what might I do you for?" Cornelius beamed, his rather plump body almost jiggling with joy.

"Minister," Dumbledore said in quite the contrary tone. "This is no time to be fooling around. These are dark times with Sirius running about and scaring the citizens, including my students.

"Oh Dumbledore, take it easy. Along with the prison guards tracking him down, I sent the government's best Aurors after the man. He wouldn't able to do anything without us there to catch him. Everyone is safe."

"I assure you Minister, that Black is smarter and more capable than you can imagine. Even if you have the best team out there, we should be prepared none the less. I have requested for some extra security for the school this year as a precaution for the safety of my students. I am sure you got my memo," Dumbledore said to him. This turned the ministers jolly look into a more bored and political shape.

"Yes we did, and I am getting the guards ready to be posted, but Albus are you sure about this?" He asked in a rather hushed voice, even though the room was empty and sound proof. "The guards are dementors, their not the sort of creature that I would be putting around the students. Even if we catch Sirius by the end of fall or even winter who knows what those things could do?"

"They are under your jurisdiction Cornelius, if anything happens to the students by fault of the dementors it is on your head. I simply asked for more security, not the entire askaban fleet. If I were you, I wouldn't be too worried about the students, but the effect that your own guards would have upon the ministry. Try to keep them under control Cornelius, for both your sake and mine," Dumbledore warned. He definitely did not want dementors in the school grounds, but he needed the security of his students. Even though Hogwarts was already a heavily armed and magic fortified castle, the precautions must be made. With Sirius Black's background, Hogwarts and a couple of his students would be a sure target for him.

"Fine," Fudge said gruffly as he signed a few documents on his desk. "They will be posted on the borders of the grounds and at random checkpoints of the express. Anything more and you might just have the entire military at your feet."

"Thank you Minister," Dumbledore said as he got up to leave.

"Hold on Albus," the man called after him. Dumbledore turned around to look the gleaming man in the face. He held a small pink envelope in his hand with a Department of Magic Education and Study imprinted on it in black wax. "Due to the new change of curriculum regulations you need to have twelve full year classes for the students this year."

"Minister, I assure you that Hogwarts has met those requirements if not exceeded them."

"Yes, I know quite well how _many _classes you have, but it is required that at least three of these classes have a strong science base. Hogwarts only has two. I would advise you to pick up a new study soon, or risk having Hogwarts being one mark short on its report," the minister threatened with a happy smile. Dumbledore took the letter with a small un-meaningful smile and backed towards the door.

"Don't worry about changing our marks Minister," he said fruitfully. "I will have a class by the start of the year." Dumbledore exited the office into the silent swirl of building chaos of the education offices. Finding a new class would be difficult to get within the two months they had before the beginning of the school year. He couldn't ask for one of the other teachers to pick up another class for they didn't know much along the lines of science, and the couple that did already had full scheduels. Luckily he knew exactly where to get one.

The teachers were mostly finished with their reviews and were waiting patiently near the door for their headmaster to dismiss them. Minivera Mcgonagal stood near the front of the ground talking to Hagrid about their tests.

"Every year it's the same routine and same bloody papers. I wish the ministry could just copy my report so I don't have to rewrite it every time. My hand is cramping up just thinking about next year!" Hagrid said to her and McGonagal silently nodded in agreement.

"Good evening Proffessors," Dumbledore said calmly. "I hope that everything went fine on your part. Do you two have a free moment?" The two completely contradictory teachers nodded respectfully and followed him into the empty dreary grey hall of the Ministry. Dumbledore flicked his wand and a quill and parchment began to write a brief. He didn't say anything to the teachers for the three minutes it took to write the letter, but he could tell they didn't mind the sense of curiosity the silence gave them. When he was done, he handed the letter to the Transfigurations teacher.

"I need to ask a favor of the two of you," Dumbledore began. "The school is of need of an extra course in the field of science. I will need you to take this personally to the Amestrian Central Military Base in request of a teacher from their country by the name of Van Hoenheim." Minerva took the letter and glanced at it quickly before rolling it up.

"But Albus, I don't want to be rash, but couldn't we just send them the letter by owl instead?" she asked quizzically.

"I never heard of Amestris before," Hagrid grumbled to himself. Dumbledore gave a lighthearted laugh.

"No, Minerva. I need you to do this personally because these people don't really accept magic as we do, and sending them the letter by owl might frighten them, not to mention the time limit we have on this. I have set up a port key for you two to use in order to get to the country. It is of absolute necessity that you find a new science teacher for the school. I am counting on you."

"Don't worry sir, we won't let you down," Hagrid said cheerily at the headmaster. Hagrid loved to travel, which was all the more reason for him to go on this mission. Minivera just gave another nod and turned down the hallway towards the portkey.


	2. A Long Train Ride

CHAPTER 2

A Long Train Ride

Edward grumpily stepped off of the train onto Kings Cross Station. It was a bright sunny day so the weather was clearly not what was getting him down. The Fueher gave him a stupid assignment to teach alchemy at a school in another country he never heard of. What type of school it was he didn't even know, he just hoped that it was not one of those religious schools he kept hearing about. The Colonel was right along with the Fueher and against all of Ed's complaints and rants Mustang threatened to court martial him if he didn't accept the mission and complete it. He remembered Roy saying something about being an Amestrian representative or what not, but he was never a good politician and barely knew how to make friends let alone allies. The only thing that the Colonel gave him to prepare for his new teaching position was a packet full of papers and documents, most of which were to get him through customs.

Ed grabbed his large canvas duffle bag that Havoc lent him to use for this trip. It still smelt of cigarettes, perfume, and the military barracks, but Ed stuffed what little belongings he had in it including his military uniform, which the Colonel ordered him to wear on any formal occasion.

The station was crowded with rushing people who on several occasions nearly knocked Edward over in their haste. People gave him glares and awkward glances as he tried to find his way around the station. It was really hard for Edward to find platforms nine and ten while fighting against a rushing current of people, but what made it twice as difficult was the fact that he had no clue how to speak their language. The people about him talked so fast in strange tongues, usually in alien portable devices that he had never seen before, that Edward couldn't understand the constants they were using let alone even imagine asking for directions. He wondered how on earth he was supposed to teach kids alchemy if he couldn't even say hello without problems.

Edward found an information desk along his journey and grabbed one of the portable maps to help him. He took a letter out of his coat pocket which had the instructions that Roy had written out for him (as in Roy it was really Hawkeye) and matched the symbols to those of the map. It turned out he was going in the completely opposite direction. The clock above him chimed twelve thirty, meaning that he only had half an hour to clear a station's worth of platforms in the congested traffic. He sprinted to the best of his ability back to where he had came from dodging the many people who tried to trample him with luggage carts, some of which had owls on them. Luckily this time he was flowing with the current.

Edward spotted his chaperone before he spotted the platform sign. Mustang told him that he was to meet a really tall man, setting the short jokes aside, that looked really out of place in the station. He was to be his guide to get to the school and show him around the country. Sure enough there was a ginormous man with a large black curly beard standing near the wall of Nine and Ten. Edward shoved his way towards the man and stopped in front of him. It took him a moment to absorb the man's full height. He was nearly as large as a small cottage (really small cottage) and challenged the wide build of Al's armour. His heart tugged a bit at the thought of his brother. He didn't even get to say good bye to him since it was a rushed order. He did make sure to send him and Winry a letter though to explain where he was.

The large man named Hagrid, if Ed's memory stood, loomed over him and made a deep laugh. Words started to poor out of his mouth like there was no tomorrow. All Edward could do was give the giant an awkward grin. The man chuckled in recognition to his troubles and gave a few extra words that sounded like reassurance. Hagrid picked up his own ticket and motioned to see his. Ed complied seeing what little use it would be to argue in that situation and handed his golden ticket over. After a moment of comparison, Hagrid motioned for Edward to follow him. It was strange seeing his chaperone leading him towards a wall. It was even stranger to see him completely disappear through it.

"Hell?" Ed exclaimed. He raced over to the brick barrier to inspect it but it was solid. Completely impenetrable. Edward tried to walk into it, maybe wondering if it had something to do with momentum of the object, but he ended up smacking his face off of the surface earning him a few awkward and alerted glances from people around him. As Ed clasped his hurting face Hagrid reappeared through the wall and looked at him with a challenged look. After a few moment of thought Hagrid snapped his fingers like thunder and pulled out a brown package and handed it to him. He carefully unwrapped the paper and held up the golden amulet. It was a large diamond shape with a large red ruby in the middle. He glared at Rubius wondering why in the world he was being handed jewelry, but the man ignored his look and motioned for him to put it on. The instant the chain was around his neck, Edward felt completely different, like his eyes were opened to a new world; that strange sensation of epiphany. It could have been some effect in the chemical makeup of the metal or it could have been that subconscious sensation that he was now a man guilty of wearing women's jewelry.

Hagrid vanished back through the wall the moment he put the chain on. Edward was still confused on the whole wall thing, but a little angrier at the fact that his chaperone abandoned him in the train station yet again without an explanation. Edward leaned his back against the brick wall to simmer in his predicament but found that the wall never came. Instead he fell right through it onto the other side. His automail arm hit the ground with a clatter and his head would have done likewise if he hadn't had his duffle strapped to his back. He started at the ceiling of the station a little befuddles by the fall. Above him he saw that the platform sign said 9 ¾ instead of ten so he couldn't have possibly fallen directly through the wall onto the other platform. The necklace, no, amulet that he wore must have had some sort of diffusion capabilities with the barrier or was the key to the platform gate which was obviously some sort of secret passage way. Hagrid, in the middle of his bewilderment, stooped over him and picked Edward up with a chuckle and brushed him off. Edward tried to fend him off not particularly liking to be man handled, but found it harder that keeping your bones crushed from one of Armstrong's hugs. In the end Edward found himself tossed onto the train without any knowledge of where he was going or supposed to do.

The train started to move as Edward made his way down the compartments looking for an empty seat. He muttered a few obscenities under his breath about the Colonel and the mission but otherwise didn't say a word. It took nearly three cars for him to find one with a nearly empty compartment. The only person in it was a long sickly looking man with a few brown haired whiskers on his face. He looked utterly pitiful and on the verge of death. The man was completely fast asleep which was exactly what Edward planned to do. He clumsily tossed his duffle up on top of the luggage rack and slumped down in the bench for a quick nap.

…

Edward's quick nap ended a little sooner than he expected. It wasn't even ten minutes into the trip until the compartment door was opened again and three teenagers shuffled in. The scrawny black haired boy sat in the bench opposite of Edward next to the old dude, while Ed moved his lounging feet to provide room for the bushy brunette and her red haired boyfriend. The brunette started to talk to him in an apologetic sort of way and then held out her hand for him to shake. He caught the introduction as Hermione and shook the hand giving a soft nod in her direction. The two other followed pursuit and introduced themselves as Ron Weasley the red head and Harry Potter the stick boy. Ed shook both of their hands ignoring their faces as they were grasped by his literal steel grip.

"Edward Elric," He said motioning to himself for the introductions. The brunette then began to talk to him a little more but Ed quickly motioned for her to stop. "I have no clue what you are saying so it is completely pointless for you to carry on," is what he was supposed to say in that situation, but since they didn't know what he was saying he threw in a couple of obscenities and a few odd quirks. They nodded as if they knew what he was supposed to be saying and headed off into their own conversation. Edward leaned his lead against the window pane to try to get some rest. The clouds started to turn grey outside their window but were not too threatening at the time. The change in humidity however still caused a little discomfort in his shoulder but he ignored it.

Just as he was about to set off to sleep again, a loud screeching sound came from above his head in the luggage compartment. Ed Jolted up and smacked his head off of the luggage rack. Ron looked at him like he was stupid as Harry searched around in his trunk for the source of the sound. He pulled out a strange looking scope that was twirling around on its axis and flashing a few lights at its owner. Edward pictured it to be some strange alarm clock from this country and tried to push the deafening sound out of his head. Instead of turning it off however, the boy just stuffed it into a dirty sock and shoved it back into his trunk. The murmurs of the trio's conversation started to pick back up and Ed sat back down in his chair rubbing a sore head. The sickly man across from him was still fast asleep. Edward wondered how he could do it. He attempted one more time to fall back asleep even though his head was still fighting him. Edward only managed to get into a state of absent mindedness before he was bolted awake by the slamming of the compartment door.

Three people in black and green robes stood outside of their compartment with greedy and rather displeasing faces. Hermione, Ron, and Harry's faces turned from calm to immediate disgust at the new arrivals. The shortest blonde boy started to make his way in the room making a few comments here and there but Edward, who had enough interruptions for one day, bolted up from his chair. Edward grabbed his duffle and firmly shoved the blond kid and his three goons out of the compartment; he shut the door behind them and headed down the train to find a new less annoying compartment.

There was one in the very back of the train. It was completely empty except for some student's random luggage, which he guessed wouldn't fit in their own compartment. Edward, thankful for finally having some peace and quiet, flopped down on the bench and propped his duffle under his head for a pillow. Instantly, he fell asleep.

…

Edward had a good two hours rest until he was jolted awake by the screeching of the train's breaks. The change in inertia nearly made him topple off of the bench he was resting one. The lights shut off and so, it seemed, did the engine. It wasn't nearly time for the train to arrive at the school, unless his pocket watch was malfunctioning, and he was sure that the school wasn't in the middle of a swampy forgotten waste land that they were in now. The train must have broken down, and with all of his luck, they would be miserably stuck there for a very long time. The rain was battering hard against the windows and the temperature strangely started to drop. It must have been because the heating would have gone out with the engine, but something didn't seem right when the temperatures dropped below that of a rainy autumn day. His automail ports whined as his breath became prominent and Edward began to massage his leg in an attempt to get rid of the pain. As Edward focused on keeping his limbs from freezing up he heard a click from his compartment door. He looked up but there was nothing there. The door, however, slid open. He was sure it was locked when he entered, it must have been a faulty lock. When Edward stood up to close the door, he was thrust against the window of the compartment and pinned there by what felt like two invisible hands. One was grasped tightly around his esophagus while the other pressed against his shoulder sending shocking ice waves up his body. He heard a strange sucking noise coming from right above his head, and his squirming body instantly froze as his breath was locked in his chest. While the wheezing breaths continued to intake, he tried to move his hands together, but his automail was locked up. As his mind started to become fuzzy and go black, he heard a terrified scream ring through his ears. He fell to the floor, as if the invisible hand dropped him before he blacked out.

…..

Edward was kicked awake by a booted foot. He looked up groggily at a man in one of the train staff uniforms. As Edward tried to take time to adjust to his surroundings, the man kicked him lightly again and muttered a few words that sounded distasteful to Edward. He slowly stood up, cautious of the headache he was obtaining and looked out of the window. They must have arrived at the station a few moments ago, for there was a dimly lit platform outside in the pouring rain. He grumbled to himself and rubbed his shoulder port. Edward thanked the caddy man and grabbed his duffle.

Outside he realized that they must have arrived at the school a little longer ago than he thought. The students all cleared out and the only people who were left were the workers unloading the luggage onto the platform. It was kind of weird that the students didn't get their luggage before they left, but he figured that someone was bound to come down to pick it up. He looked around the area to see some sort of landmark. The platform was surrounded by black forest as far as the eye could see. The only thing of any significance was a castle about two miles up the road. Edward searched around for some other sense of direction, or possible transportation, but found none. There was only a string of lanterns travelling towards the castle a distance away. That was probably his party. With a grumbled huff, Edward tightened his duffle around his shoulders and prepared for his long walk in the rain.

…

The teachers around the High Table glanced around at each other questionably as the students started to file in. There were no new faces among them other than Professor Remus Lupin, which was obviously not right. Dumbledore announced the arrival of a new teacher a few weeks ago when he received a letter from the Furher explaining the situation. They were supposed to be getting a fully honoured State Alchemist in their mitts to teach the new course. Little else was said about the subject, except for time of arrival and the fact that he was from muggle country. The entire faculty, especially the science department, all tried hard to prepare the castle for their newest member. Unfortunately, he had yet to make an appearance. When the entire student body had filed into their seats and the first years been sorted, Dumbledore reluctantly stood up to make opening announcements and rules.

"Welcome Witches and Wizards alike to another grand year at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. I, as your headmaster and a terribly hungry man, would like to set off this feast right away, but I need to make a couple of announcements first. First off, as all returning students shall know, that the Forbidden Forest is exactly that, and anyone who fears for their safety will not go wandering around in at all. Secondly, if you all might have noticed on the train ride, that due to the recent events in the world, Hogwarts needed to take up some new security on the grounds. Dementors are here for our safety and protection, however, as good of intentions as they might have, dementors should not be trifled with. They are creatures of which know no mercy, or forgiveness. They are also quite cunning, no simple tricks or invisibility cloaks will be able to trick them. I beg of you, for your safety as well as those around you, do not interfere with the dementors jobs.

"Now on a happier note. I would like to announce the arrival of three new teachers to our faculty. Professor Remus Lupin graciously accepted the position as our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. And our well known Keeper of the Grounds and Keys, Rubius Hagrid, has now provided his position for the teacher of Care of Magical creatures as well due to the leave of poor Professor Kettlebern."

A bunch of applause echoed the room as the teachers were announced. They each stood respectively to their fans and then quietly returned to their seats. However, the screaming applause soon turned to hushed murmurs as the students realized that a chair in the faculty table was still empty. Hagrid shifted around nervously in his seat.

"As Some of you might have heard, we added a new class to our curriculum this year. It open to all grades first through fifth. I apologise to the later classes because due to its complexity, it needs at least two full years of teaching in order to learn it. However, it seems that our new professor seems to be running a little bit late and I am afraid to announce that his introduction might have to be delayed until he is found…"The entire room, whispers and all, was put to silence as the doors to the Great  
Hall were kicked open.

…

Edward was soaked from head to toe and completely miserable. A two mile hike in the pouring rain was nothing to be happy about, especially when there was a pounding headache hammering his skull. His drenched clothes sent shivers up his spine as he entered the large doors of the castle. The main corridor was empty, but he heard a loud commotion going on through the large set of double doors a little ways to his right. Not wanting to be late for anything, though with a check of his watch he realized he really was, Edward attempted to push the doors open. It took a couple of shoves and then a large roundhouse to break it open. The large door swung open and hit its corresponding wall with a bang.

_ 'heesh heavy door,'_ Edward thought to himself and made his way into the hall. There were five tables all together. Four oddly colour coordinated ones which seemed to house students, and then a large high table where the faculty seemed to be sitting. The hall was lit by natural light which came, to Edward's surprise, from several hundered candles floating above their heads. The ceiling was the biggest surprise to him because it seemed to be perfectly painted like the cloudy night sky. It even had the glow of the moon placed in its exact position in the sky. After Edward gaped at the strange decorations of the school, he looked around and noticed that the rooms occupants were doing the exact same thing to him.

Edward took his silent march toward the front of the room, his soggy boots squishing as he went. Several students around the hall started to whisper to each other. Edward could only guess it was his strange clothes, due to the fact that he was the only one not wearing a dress, or that is was the fact that he was making the most awkward entrance to the year. When he reached the podium, an old fart stopped him in his tracks and asked him some sort of question. Edward reached into his pocket and pulled out a soaking wet envelope that was supposedly addressed to an Albus Dumbledore. Edward could only guess that the old fart was him. He clapped his hands together and dried the envelope and its contents off with an electrical zap of alchemy, before handing it to him. While the old man read its contents, Edward gave another clap and dried himself off. This was awarded with a few ooohs and awes from the students and even a couple faculty memebers, but Edward ignored it. The change in atmosphere was enough for him, the new warmth cooling down the pain in his automail. When Edward looked up, the headmaster was done reading the letter and looking at him questionably, as if he still didn't believe that he was their new teacher.

"I am Edward Elric, your new Alchemy teacher," he introduced himself. The instant he did so, however, the old man pulled out a twisted wooden stick and waved it in his face. A white light came out of the tip and hit him in the face. The force wasn't that hard, but was strong enough to send his headache reeling again.

"Very well, Edward Elric, you may be seated among the faculty up at the High Table," Dumbledore said to him. Edward was about to follow his commands but stopped in his tracks and turned back to the old fart.

"Wait! You understood me!"

"Well, in technical terms, the translation spell only translates the words that come out of your mouth and in through your ears, so it is you who are actually understanding us, but yes that is the general idea. Now if you will please take your seat young man, everything will be explained in a little while." Edward, still a little befuddled, reluctantly turned and took his seat next to a woman clad in white nursing robes and a man completely dressed in black robes and who had greasy black hair. They gave him funny looks but Edward ignored them as the headmaster started to speak again.

"Well, it seems that the young professor had made it just in time for his introduction. I would like to announce that Professor Edward Elric, travelled from his own country to become our Alchemy teacher. Now, since he is foreign and new to the school here I would also like to ask that you please make him feel welcome. And even with his age and background, Edward Elric is still a teacher and should be respected like one. With that said, let the feast begin!" Dumbledore clapped his hands and the tables lit up with the adornment of foods and delicacies for the occupants to devour. Edward, in pure fright, nearly fell off of his chair with the sudden appearance of the food. However, to the other faculty who were immediately filling their plates, this seemed normal and they laughed a bit at his stupidity. After resituating himself on his chair, Edward cautiously started to poke at the food until he deemed it 'normal', and filled his plate. He didn't get far, when the woman next to her, whom he now knew as Poppy Promfery, grabbed his head and started to inspect his neck.

"Oh my, you look terrible! What happened to you?" she gasped as she ran a finger down his neck. A sharp pain seared through him as she did so. Edward could only guess that he was bruised from the strangling that he had on the train ride.

"I don't quite know myself," Edward said trying to remember what happened on the ride. "I think I was attacked by a ghost, but that is impossible, since ghost don't exist." Just then a voice cried out behind him.

"Ghosts don't what? I beg to differ young man, ghosts do exists. How else would I be floating here if I wasn't one myself?" the cheery voice came. Edward turned around, but there was no one, and nothing behind him. Edward stuck his hand out as if to grasp something that wasn't there. A moment later however, an icy chill ran through his entire body as it seemed an arctic wind blew through him.

"Nick, don't scare the lad. He can't see you after all," Poppy said to the air. Edward still held a face of shock that was apparently funny to some of the faculty members.

"Oh! Well if it isn't so!" the merry voice came again from across the table this time. "A muggle in our school! How nice! It has been a long time since we had one of them here. A nice change in culture might I say. Sorry for the scare!" The voice fell silent after that, and Edward could only guess that its invisible embodiment left. Poppy started to fuss about him again taking his temperature with her hands and checking his eyes for any dialation.

"What did the voice mean by muggle?" Edward asked as his eye lid was pulled open.

"He meant a nonmagical person. This is a wizarding school after all, and muggles only come once in a millennia and only on special occasions since they can't really accept nor perform the art as we do. You are a muggle my friend, and therefore can't see the things we can," Poppy said. Edward backed away a bit trying to get some room from the nurse.

"Wait, magic? Stop pulling my leg, that can't possibly exist! I mean it would go against the rules of physics, of alchemy, of nature!"

"Stop your fussing, you are here after all and now speaking a language you don't even know. What more proof did you need? I thought that Minivera would have informed your Fuhrer about this anyway before asking for a teacher," came the milk curdling voice of Severus Snape behind him. Edward realized that that was true, he did walk through a brick wall, get attacked by an invisible force, and unknowingly speaking a different tounge. But what got him was that they had already informed the fuhrer about the mission plans, which must have also been given to Mustang.

"That Bastard!" Edward said as he attempted to get out of his seat. Poppy however pushed him down as she was still inspecting him. "He knew! That Bastard knew all along and didn't even tell me before sending me here!"

"Language," Severus scolded. Poppy then whipped out her wand and tapped his neck. A searing warmth spread through it as he could feel the bruises on his neck fade away, and his headache die out. Edward gave out a relieved moan and slumped down in his seat with relief.

"That definitely was no ghost," Poppy said looking at his neck to make sure everything was fixed correctly. The sickly man across the table, the one from the train ride, gave a little laugh.

"Well, of course it wasn't a ghost! That was nothing other than a dementor. For some reason they've gone berserk on the train ride! Nearly got Harry too," he said a bit aggravated. He reached into his robes and pulled out a chocolate bar. "Here eat this. I would allow Poppy to give out the dosage but since I have it on me right now, this should suffice. Come one eat up."

"I don't really like chocolate that much," Edward said as he read the package. The unmistakable word _milk_ was written in fancy cursive in front of chocolate.

"That's no way to treat your medicine," Poppy said as she unwrapped and crammed the bar unwillingly into his face. As he was choking on the bar of chocolate Poppy looked over to the man. "At least we have a DADA professor that finally knows his remedies! Thank you Lupin."

When the chocolate bar was finally gone, Edward was left gasping for breath from his near death by chocolate experience. Aside from the fact that he had just eaten a product with a heavy source of cow lactate in it, he was feeling much better, like true happiness was in him once more, but he ignored it wanting to yell at the nurse for nearly killing him. After a few laughs from the teachers and a course of dessert, Dumbledore stood up to make the finishing speech. As the old man walked past Edward, he bent down and whispered in his ear.

"There is a mandatory faculty meeting in my office right afterwards," he said a little more grimly than his cheery face let one. For once in his life, Edward felt a little offset by this. Edward gave a shallow nod of the head and a silent sign of respect before the announcements were made. Around the table, Edward did see that a few of the faculty members, aside from Poppy who was still fidgeting with the chocolate, were not as chipper this evening as everyone else. He guessed that it had to do with him. He dared take a glance at Severus who was giving him a death glare. He immediately regretted it.

After Dumbledore's announcements, the students filed out of the room to go to their dormitories. The instant the last student left, Edward felt two cold hands on his shoulders.

"Come on, Alchemist. We don't want you to be late for your faculty meeting," Severus said. As the man lead him out of the hall, Edward noticed an old grey haired lady storming down the cooridor ahead of them. Edward guest that this was Minevera McGonagall, and she was not happy at all. After winding around several hallways an up a couple flights of stairs, the small group of faculty members came to a strange offset staircase that was obviously connected to a tower of somesort. Up their ascent they came upon two large doors, much like the ones from the Great Hall, but of a smaller stature. Edward was pushed inside, a little roughly by Severus and shoved into a chair in the middle of the circular room. His duffle bag was thrown carelessly at his feet. Edward noticed that only a couple of faculty members were in the office, which made him realize that this wasn't a mandatory faculty meeting at all. Only the headmaster, Sprout, Poppy, Severus, Lupin, McGonagall, and Hagrid were present in the tower. McGonagall was angrily pacing about the room as if she was going to explode, it reminded Edward a little bit of Winry when she would get upset about his automail conditions, but with a few less wrenches. When the doors closed behind them, she exploded.

"A Child! They sent a child to teach here! Do they think that this is some sort of a joke? They said that they would send a State Alchemist! Not a thirteen year old child! Rubius why didn't you tell us before?" she burst out.

"Sorry, I just thought he was a little short for his age," he apologized. Edward's face twisted with the signature words that were spilled out of the giants mouth. It took all of his effort to keep from bursting out. The constant warning from mustang kept ringing through his ear. _Don't lose your temper. Whatever you do don't lose it._ Of course mustang threw in some short jokes with that but Edward chose to ignore them at this moment.

"Hey! I am a State Alchemist! If you haven't even cared to notice, I am fifteen!" Edward snapped back. He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out his watch. Dumbledore bent down to investigate it.

"I do say, that this is an authentic watch if I have ever seen one, but how did you get it?" Dumbledore questioned.

"I earned it of course! I took the State Alchemist Exam when I was twelve! Of course I will need to perform my assessment sometime this fall, but I am still an authorized State Alchemist. What information did Mustang send you about this?" Edward asked. Minivera quickly pulled a letter off of the headmaster's desk and started to read it with a crisp tounge.

"We have granted your request for an alchemy teacher, though the person that you have requested is not available, we are more than honoured to send one of our own. Major Edward Elric, the certified State Alchemist under the name of Fullmetal, will be assigned to you for the time being. He is more than capable of teaching the students what they need to know and will certainly prove his worth in the years to come….." After listening to the small introduction of the letter, Edward nearly burst out laughing.

"Well, that explains your problem right there! Ha!" Edward laughed. This surprised the teachers a bit. They looked around nervously at each other.

"I don't see what is so funny about this. The fact that they sent us someone who isn't even of age, or the fact that the military accepts children isn't anything to laugh about!" McGonagall snipped.

"Well, first off I would like to say that the State Alchemist is the only branch in the military with no age limit. They think that the test's difficulty is enough to keep the younger folks away or even out if they attempt. Second, the Fuhrer, not even the Colonel wrote this letter. It was Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. She is always picking up on Mustang's paperwork. She must have written this because there is no what that Mustang would have said that I am more than capable, even though it is true. His complex is too big for that." Edward paused a bit to let himself catch some air from laugh fest he had.

"How did a muggle like you pass the alchemy exam if it is as hard as you say?" Severus sneered.

"Alchemy is a science not any of this bippity boppity boo magic stuff. Anyone can do it. As for my age, if you have failed to register, I am a genius. How else?" Edward said. The faculty whispered back and forth for a bit.

"I really do wish that our request was fully made. If he was here we wouldn't have to be worrying about all of this," McGonagall said.

"Who was it that you originally asked for?" Edward asked. He felt a deep gut feeling rise in his stomach. There was only one world known alchemist who wasn't with the state. He looked up at Dumbledore for the answer.

"I have requested an old friend of mine, Van Hoenheim of Light. He used alchemy to help me with a project a few years back and I was calling for his aid again. However, I don't seem to know where he ran off to all these years," Dumbledore said quietly. Yup, Edward's gut feeling was correct. His mouth tasted bitter with the thought of his existence even reaching this far outside of the country.

"That Bastard," Edward mumbled to himself. Some of the closer faculty heard this but didn't say anything about this. "He disappeared around ten years ago. Ever since then I was always the one cleaning up after him. Now I wish that I could dump this job just to spite him."

"I take it you knew him?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"Of course I knew that bastard. He was my biological father!" Edward said. The people around the room gasped and started to whisper a bit, but he ignored them. "Though that is the only title he will ever keep in my mind. If it was up to me, I would walk out of here and clean my hands of anything to do with that man, but if I do, I will be court martialed and probably arrested for treason, so it looks like you are stuck with me."

"Very well," Dumbledore said. He walked over to his desk and started to write a letter. It took a couple of silent and awkward minutes but when he was done, he handed it, to Edward's surprise, to an owl and sent it off on its way. "There, I have confirmed your arrival at the school and have stated that you will indeed be taking our teaching position."

"But Albus-"

"No buts, Minivera. If this is who the Fuhrer sent, then it should be wise of us to trust the president's decision. After all, it would do us well to have a change in atmosphere around here, liven the place up a bit," he said cheerily. The clock in his room chimed twelve and the teachers all looked up in surprise. The hours since the feast flew by so fast. Dumbledore let out a soft chuckle. "Well, it seems that the time flies faster these days than it did back then. Let us all be off to bed for a night's rest. Edward, your quarters are still in need of a portrait for the doorway. The Colonel sent a few pictures for us to recreate for it, but it will still take a couple more hours and I am sure that you do not want to wait until then. I will have Minivera take you to an empty dormitory room in one of the towers for you to rest the night. We will come get you in the morning and show you your new class room then," Dumbledore informed him. As all of the other teachers filed out of the oval office, Lupin came over to him and gave a light tap to the amulet around his neck.

"I would advise you to keep this on at all times. The wards around the school definitely are not muggle friendly. I will find a way to put another enchantment on it so that you will be able to see the magical creatures as we do. Then you won't have to fear walking through a ghost again. If you have any problems with anything come to me or Poppy," he said before he walked out with the other teachers.

"Poppy?" Edward asked himself. Why would he go see the nurse? Just then Poppy came up behind him and turned him around with one final inspection. She must really like perfection since this was the twelfth one that evening. She looked about his neck and then looked at his eyes one more time. They lingered there for a little longer and then left.

"Well, it seems we got another one," she said towards Dumbledore. He gave a soft chuckle.

"No, No, Poppy. The Hoenheims are known to have that strange eye colour. It is purely genetic. Now stop messing with the boy and let him get some rest," he ordered. Poppy gave him one more look over.

"If there is any problems with those limbs of yours come straight to me. I don't know what I can do with them, but I am a nurse after all," she whispered almost inaudible into his ear.

"How did you know?" he said.

"I am a nurse. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to. But it is better that I found out now than later," she said as she made her exit. Edward looked down at his hands for a second. Was it really that easy to figure out? He should probably take more caution in dealings with his right arm. Noticing that Minivera was waiting for him, he grabbed his duffle off of the floor and walked out with her. It took several flights of stairs to reach their destination. Edward was a little baffled that the pictures as well as the stairs moved in this place, but got used to it at about the fourth flight. It was after all, a magic school. When they reached the seventh floor, Edward was placed in front of a picture of the fat lady.

"Fortuna Major!" McGonagall said, and the portrait slid open respectively. Inside, there were about fifty students scattered about the large common room. Some of them were in their pajamas and others were still decked in their red trimmed uniforms. Edward was very thankful for the warmth of the fireplace, but not as quite appreciative of the blank stares he was getting. McGonagall ignored them and started to give Edward a tour of the place.

"Now Edward, you will be sleeping up on the tenth floor dormitory. That is empty for the time being so it shall suffice. The showers and bath are down that way for the men and the common room is open to all. Now with that said, I shall be heading to my own quarters for the evening," she said a little bitterly, and then left. Edward could tell that she still didn't like the idea of him teaching, but he put it off. They are bound to get used to it. After the portrait hole closed, Edward turned back to the staring crowd of students. He gave a little nod of the head and started to travel up to his room. He heard a couple of footsteps behind him, and figured that a couple of the students were following him. He turned around and saw two identical red heads tailing him.

"What are you doing?" Edward said as he continued up the stairs.

"We wanted to meet our new professor," one of them said.

"We are in your class after all," added the other.

"Maybe you could give us a few pointers."

"How about a demonstration?" they both said together. Edward reached his door and turned around to face the two of them. They were smiling up at him with mischievous grins. He gave one back to them.

"A demonstration eh?" Edward said scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I suppose that one won't hurt. How's this?" he said as he clapped his hands together and placed the on the wall next to him. In an instant, a barrier shot out of the wall and connected with the other, separating him from the twins. It didn't go all the way up to the ceiling, however because that would take a little too much material than the wall had to offer. The barrier though still stood a firm ten feet above them. Edward gave out a small grumble and hauled his tired butt off to sleep. He could hear a couple of happy cheers coming from the other side of the barrier and gave a little smirk. This was going to be an exciting year.

**Okay sorry for the long chapter. However, I just felt it was better doing it in one go. the next chapter will be a more manageable length. please review!**


	3. Portraits and Troublemakers

**PSYC! sorry, another lengthy chapter. I decided to make it at least a bit entertaining. Please review. The next chapter I promise will be a lot shorter and easier to read... I hope.**

CHAPTER 3

Portraits and Troublemakers

Edward got up early that morning and quietly packed all of his stuff back into the duffle bag he had. After breaking down the barrier he created last night, Edward made his way down to the bathroom where he got ready for that morning's classes. There were a couple of students already up and about, even if they were half asleep, but Edward didn't care. After brushing his teeth and braiding his hair, Edward made his way back to the common room to wait for Minivera to show him about the castle. It would have been simpler if they would have just given him a map of some sort. He would have to inquirer about on later though. Edward sat in one of the puffy arm chairs and relaxed by the still roaring fire. The rain had stopped last night, giving his automail ports a break from the pain, but it still felt good to sit near the blazing furnace. After a little bit, a couple more students came down the stairs from their dorms and carefully crept along the walls far away from him like he was some sort of disease. Edward gave a small grunt in recognition and shifted a bit in his chair. He pulled out his notebook to take a bit of light reading and maybe revise a couple of notes. A body sat down in the chair next to him. He felt this presence near him and knew that they were probably looking over his shoulder. He hated when people did that. It was more annoying that a fly buzzing in your ear. Even though the person's attempts were futile since his notes were written in Amestrian, he couldn't stand it. Without looking, Edward lightly shoved the person's face away with his hand. They grumbled a bit at the motion, but he ignored them. After a few awkward seconds, the person was joined by a couple of friends and they started to chat. Edward delved back into his book and didn't even realize when a body came over to him and started to talk. The person must have gotten angry with him because, the person gave him a light slap over the head. Edward looked up startled and saw Severus Snape standing over him.

"McGonagall had a couple of errands she had to run, so she sent me to come get you. We will have a house elf take your things to your new residence. Follow me," he said in his snake like voice. Edward reluctantly got up and tucked the notebook into his coat pocket. He noticed that the couple of students sitting on the couch were Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Ron, must have been the one reading over his shoulder because the other two were laughing a bit at him.

Severus lead Edward through the labrynth of a castle and found himself outside the great hall. Edward still didn't know how he got there and was sure that it wasn't the same way he made it to his dorm the last time.

"Severus," Edward said. "You don't happen to have a map or anything do you?"

Severus's stone face smiled a bit, almost invisible to anyone else. "No, but I am sure that Hagrid would have one since he _is_ the keeper of the grounds and keys," he replied and headed through the doors to the high table for breakfast. Edward entered behind him and walked down the long isles to his seat and sat down for his morning meal. The hall wasn't full, but it still was filled with hushed voices when he walked in. It wasn't as much as it was the night before, but it still was disentling.

"Don't pay attention to them," Lupin said as Edward sat down across from him. "They are just curious teenagers. Having a young teacher like you is sure to arouse some curiousity and suspicion." Edward grabbed a pair of muffins and started to butter them and filled his glass with some water. Remus continued on, "However, I would advise it if you would avoid telling them you are with the military. They might be a little frightened by that aspect."

"I wasn't planning on telling anyone if it wasn't necessary. Back home, it is exactly the same. Dogs of the military they call us. It isn't the most welcoming title," Edward said.

"Why did you join the military, might I ask?" Severus asked quietly.

"Personal," Edward simply answered. Just then Hagrid came marching merrily through the doors of the great hall. Strangely enough though, along with his whistling, he was swinging a dead polecat. Hagrid came up to the table and sat on Edward's left, setting the carcass of the weasel on the table.

"Good morning to ya'll, excited for the first day of classes?" he asked with his deep voice. Edward only came up to a little above his waist when they were both standing, and was now dwarfed by the mere appearance of his new colleague.

"Can't possibly wait any longer. Might die of anticipation," Severus sarcastically sneered.

"I know! Me neither! I am so nervous on my first day as a teacher! I hope I do well. Don't want them kids thinking I am a dunderhead and all," Hagrid said completely oblivious to Snape's sarcasm. Edward gave out a little chuckle at this, but hid it as he quickly took a sip of water.

"You'll do fine. Don't forget, it is Edward's and my first day teaching as well," Remus comforted him. Rubius looked a little calmer, but he was still fiddling with the dead polecat which still laid on the table.

"Hagrid, why do you have a dead animal on the table?" Edward asked.

"Oh!" he said like he nearly forgot it was there. "This is what has been getting into my chickens! Killed my little old Gugubera and then ate and smashed about several eggs. Finally got him after I set up a couple traps here and there. These little buggers are always bothering me chickens."

"Yes Hagrid, but why have it at the table? Poppy is going to get angry-"

"Rubius! Get that thing away from the table! To you know how unsanitary it is to keep that here!" Poppy screamed as she entered the Hall. She marched up to Rubius and started to shove him out of his chair. "Get it out right now and go wash your hands! We don't want anyone catching rabies!" The faculty laughed a bit as Hagrid was sent outside like a little kid and poppy quickly sanitized the table with a swish of her wand. McGonagall started to go around and deliver schedules to the teachers and then to the students. Edward got his for the week and saw that he only had three out of seven blocks filled that day. It was the first years, second year Gryffindor and Ravenclaw mix, and then Fifth year Gryffindor and Slytherin mix. As Edward started to get up to go to his class he realized that he forgot to as Hagrid for a map and had no clue where his classroom was.

"Hey Sinistra, do you know where my classroom is?" Edward asked the elderly astronomy teacher. She checked his schedule, which said classroom 3D on it.

"That is right near Remus's classroom, I am sure that he will be willing to take you there. I am in the opposite direction," she apologized and then left. Remus, having heard their conversation, walked over to him and led him up three flights of stairs and across a suspension bridge to a separate tower. Remus pointed out several land marks along the way to help him which included an armoury, trophy room, and even the Charm's classroom. After their walk, Remus brought Edward to a stop a little ways down from the Armoury.

"This is classroom 3d. if you need me, my classroom is 3C a little farther down this corridor. I think that Dumbledore might be stopping by later today to get your living quarters situated," Lupin said and then made his way towards his own class. Inside the classroom, Edward saw that the walls were made out of fine white marble and had many windows on the west side that drowned the room in natural light. There was a fireplace in the back that Edward immediately planned to use frequently as he suspected that it would get cold in the winter this far north. He noticed that the old fashioned desks that he had seen in the other classrooms were replaced with work tables for their use. His favorite thing about the room however, was the large chalk board in the front near the desk. There were several huge boxes of chalk deposited there just for his disposal. He walked over to the desk and sat down in the chair. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but it would do. Sifting through the drawers, Edward found that a couple of things were already placed in it. Several lengths of parchment paper were centered in the middle drawer and several quills and ink fountains were set to the side of that. Even more boxes of chalk were placed in the right side drawer and underneath them was a copy of the text book that the students would be using. Edward picked it up and read the cover, _Translations of Transmutation, a Beginner's Guide to Alchemy_. He flipped the cover open looked at the author. _Nicolas Flamel._

"Well, I'll be dammed," Edward mumbled to himself.

"You'll be dammed what professor?" came a voice from above him. Edward looked up startled at a young first year hufflepuff. He didn't even realize that his first class was already entering.

"Oh, nothing, take your seat," Edward said to her and stood up to teach his lesson.

Edward had two classes back to back and then the rest of the day free until last period. He gave both classes a brief overview of the class and the science itself. The first years seemed to be handling the chemistry behind the subject a lot better than the second years. He guessed it had to do with the exposure to the magical world. The older wizards relied too much on the unexplainable that they rarely found any logic in anything. However, the second years did take a good grasp on the philosophy and laws. Edward could see that they could be physics majors if they wanted to in the muggle world. He found that the text book was very well written and it explained the differences between magic and alchemy very well. However, he still needed to explain some things to them. Edward also planned to take a look at it to make sure that the content didn't have anything that the students shouldn't know in it. He wanted to prevent the unimaginable.

During his free period, Edward headed out for a walk around the castle. He made sure to take a stop by the armoury to see what it had in store. The Armoury was a long wide corridor with windows to the North. The walls were entirely lined with different suits of armor that Edward guest would date back to England's Middle-ages. There were a couple that resembled Al but none of them were large enough or scratched enough to be a replica. It seemed that English armour was generally smaller than Amestrian armour. Maybe it was the fact that the soldiers didn't have any large piles of rocks or flames thrown at them through alchemy. As Edward continued his walk through the castle, he realized that he had no clue where he was going. It seemed that he was now in a corridor lined with some of the moving pictures. Most of them whispered back and forth to eachother skeptically as he walked by but one called out to him.

"On guard, you brave a flaming foe! Have at you!" the little painting of the knight said as he brandished his sword and started to swing it about stupidly.

"What are you doing?" Edward asked the tiny ten inch man.

"I am attempting to duel you and claim victory for my kingdom! Come at me then!" the knight cried. Edward rolled his eyes and flicked the frame of the portrait. The knight was sent tumbling as if it was a giant earth quake, his white horse which was lazily grazing in the background nearly toppled over with the effect. When the knight regained his senses, he quickly sheathed his sword and started to bow at Edward. "My you are surely a great powerful creature. I, Sir Cadogan, shall give you my respect as a fellow knight," the man said as if in a theatrical play. Edward's stomach growled a bit and he glanced at his watch. It was nearly time for lunch.

"Say, do you know how to get to the….."

"Why yes! Follow me! My second quest today. I shall deliver you safely to you destination as I have done before! Charge!" Cadogan yelled as he hopped on his horse. The horse didn't budge so Edward decided to help it get going and clapped his hands loudly near the painting and said yah, yah! Immediately the horse started to trot out of the painting and surprisingly into the next. Cadogan lead them down several hallways and up a couple flights of stairs before they came to a tower with no apparent doors in it. The knight reared on his horse and cried triumphantly at their arrival to the destination. "Cadogan has done it again! Here you go lad! I have brought you safely to the North Tower like you asked!"

"I didn't ask for the North Tower though, I asked for the Great Hall," Edward said to the knight but he was already gone, charging triumphantly down the corridor. He looked around the empty place and saw a trap door on the ceiling. As Edward was thinking of a way to get up there, it opened and a silver ladder dropped down in front of him. A few seconds later a young Gryffindor student started to make her way down the ladder. When she reached the bottom, she spun around and nearly ran into Edward.

"Oh, I am sorry, I didn't see you there," she said quickly. Edward recognized her immediately as Hermione Granger from the train ride.

"No, its okay," Edward said and started to follow her down the hallway. "Hey do you know where the Great Hall is?"

"OH!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I nearly forgot! You are the new teacher! Whenever I see you I keep thinking that you are one of the Weasly twins' classmates. I do apologize!" she said and continued to blabber on. "I was actually going down to the hall to catch some lunch as well. I was just up here picking up a book I left in Professor Trelawny's class. You can follow me," she said and they turned another corner to the grand staircase.

"Who is Professor Trelawny?"

"I am not surprised if you don't know her. She barely leaves that tower of hers. She says it ruins her _mind's eye_, or what not," Hermione said with a little mimicking voice to her. "I don't normally talk bad like that about a teacher, I just find Divination a bunch of ludicracy. She predicts at least one student dead every year. This year it was Harry and Ron absolutely believes her. He says that the Grim is no laughing matter. I know it is not, but when professor Trelawny talks about it, you never know," Hermione finished.

"I don't really understand half of this magic stuff at all. It has no equivalent exchange to it and defies all laws of science including the laws of conservation of mass and energy. I just don't understand how you can turn a nickel into a tadpole, or even how I am talking to you right now," Edward said. Hermione looked at him questionably and he realized that she probably didn't know. "Oh, I can't do magic. I don't possess the 'blood line' or what not," he said doing a little mimic like she previously did. She gave a little chuckle at his expression. "As for the other matter, Dumbles put a translation spell on me when I first got here."

"Oh, that's right. I nearly forgot you couldn't speak a word! By the way, thanks for mowing down Malfoy on your way out of the compartment it saved us a few brain cells. Dealing with him is a little more than I can handle," Hermione said. "I do advise you to keep the muggle fact to yourself however long possible though. Many families, like the Malfoys don't like muggles or muggle borns like myself. It tends to create a few problems here and there."

"Thanks for the advise, but I don't think that I can last very long anyways. Someone is bound to notice that I don't wave a magic baton around," Edward laughed. They finally made it to the Great Hall and the two of them parted ways. As Hermione walked over to Ron and Harry, Edward made his way to the staff table. Everyone was eating a nice hearty lunch. Everyone that is, except Hagrid. Edward made his way over to where Remus and Severus sat around the gloomy looking giant.

"Hey Hagrid, what's up?" Edward asked softly trying not to hit any sore strings anywhere. But even with his attempt, Hagrid broke down and ran out of the hall, carrying his dead polecat behind him. Edward looked back up to his fellow teachers but they simply shrugged. He was never good dealing with emotions anyway. When he sat down, it seemed like the entire table gave out a large sigh of relief.

"it seems as our friend Hagrid had some trouble in his first class," Remus said solemnly. Everyone else around the table nodded.

"Well, it was his fault. The man should have started out with something simple like a Blastened Skewart instead of a Hippogriff," Severus mumbled. Edward didn't know what any of these things were, but expected that he would find out sooner or later.

"I do agree with you Severus, but it was also the student's fault for not listening to him in the first place. If you don't listen to instructions, these things happen," Remus replied taking a sip of his goblet. The table fell to silence as the group continued to eat their food. After a while, Edward piped up.

"What the hell is a Hippogriff?"

…

After lunch Edward wandered outside for a few moments. He walked alongside of the lake for a little bit and then decided to head towards the woods. It was however, not long before he made it to one of the ornamental trees outside of Hogwarts. It looked like a spooky willow tree, crooked and knarley, but with long beautiful leaves flowing down over it. Just as he started to pass over the hill, however, he heard a few people near the other side of the tree. It looked like three Slytherins near the diameter of the tree. They were poking and prodding each other as if they were daring the other to climb the tree. Just as they edged closer to it, however, the willow swung its large branches down on them. The three Slytherins fell down and crawled out of the way of the rampaging tree. Edward walked over and stood above them glaring.

"What do you think you are doing?" Edward asked sternly. He didn't know much about magic, but obviously the tree didn't like people.

"We are just having a bit of fun!" one of the students replied cheerfully.

"Come on give it a try professor!" the other said just as happily.

"Like he know how to have fun. He is a Mud, a bloody muggle. He shouldn't even teach here," the third student grumbled.

"Come on Marcus," the first student said. "Don't talk to the teacher like that!"

"Hey! My Mom is a muggle!" the second Slytherin replied.

"QUIET!" Edward scolded the group. The three of them instantly shut up. He pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment. He couldn't believe that the news of him being a muggle already got around so fast. It must have been the pictures hanging on the walls because he was sure that Hermione wouldn't have said anything. "Why don't the three of you get out of here before the tree, or myself, does any permanent damage," Edward threatened. The two slytherins got up and ran up down the hill, but Marcus Flint, the third slytherin stayed behind. Edward turned to go back towards the castle, but before he got far, he was shoved from the back. Trying to catch his balance Edward stumbled to his left a few yards, right into the diameter of the Whomping willow. As the branches swung down towards him, Edward quickly dodged them. However, the branches kept coming at him and he started to start evasive and defensive maneuvers in order not to be hit. After several minutes of back flips and side jumps, he and the tree were both tiredly panting. It seemed that the tree even ran out of juice to keep fighting him. When Edward caught his breathe and looked up to where the shocked Marcus Flint was still standing. He marched over to the boy and grabbed him by his ear and started to drag him to the school. Edward only took a second to glance back at the willow to see what it was doing, and it seemed that the tree was bowing to him in respect, however it was probably the wind.

"Ten points from Slytherin for making a complete dick move!" Edward scolded the boy who squirmed behind him. "If it was anyone else, muggle or wizard, they would have become human jelly! You should be grateful that I didn't die, or else there would be more than a few points taken away!" When Edward made it into the castle, he found Severus standing in the Entrance hall talking to professor sprout about some potion ingredients. He marched Marcus Flint over to the man and threw him down to his feet. "Deal with this idiot!" Edward scolded.

"What on earth happened to you!" Pomona shriek as Edward tried to brush some of the accumulated dirt off of his clothes. Strangely though, the herbology teacher had more on herself even when she wasn't battling down a rampaging tree.

"That idiot and his friends were fooling around the willow tree. His buddies were smart enough to leave when I told them to, but this idiot decided that it would be a good laugh to push me into it," Edward said.

"The tree got tired?" Severus said skeptically.

"What do you think I just laid down and rolled around in the mud for fun?" Edward said. Severus looked down at the nervous wreck of a boy. After taking a death glare from Edward, he gave a frightful nod of his head.

"Very well, Marcus I take ten points from slytherin along with whatever, Elric here wanted as well. Detention with me tonight," Snape scolded. After his death sentence, Marcus got up and ran down to the dungeons like a scared cat. Edward rolled his eyes and checked his watch. It was nearly last period. He needed to get to his class room.

"Well, now that that is taken care of, I need to get to class," Edward muttered and started to head down the hall. Pomona Sprout left to go check up on the Whomping Willow. Severus followed him towards the third floor.

"So, a muggle managed to take down the whomping willow single handedly," Snape said. Edward ignored him and kept walking. "Let me say that that is a first."

"Well, if you were me, you learn how to take care of things bigger and meaner than a tree," Edward replied. He could almost feel the smirk coming up on Severus's face.

"I have no doubt in you, just be a bit more careful when dealing with the school's plants, that is Pomona's profession," Snape responded and then head down his own way towards the West tower. When Edward got to his classroom, he found that some of the fifth year students were already there. The Weasley twins were sitting together at the same table looking at something in their laps. Some of the other students were gathered around them to look at it.

"Put it away George," Edward scolded.

"I'm not George, he is!" the twin said. The other one nodded in agreement, but Edward stared at them sternly.

"George, put it away," he repeated. The twins gave a disappointed frown and stuffed whatever it was back in their bag.

"How did you know it was me?" George asked.

"If I told you, what fun would that be?" Edward said. When he got up to the front of the room, he noticed that the two slytherins from earlier were in his class as well. He ignored them and started to write a couple of things on the board.

"Like most of you know, Alchemy is a type of science. Unlike most of you know, it doesn't have an ounce of magic to it, so please put your wands away," Edward said still scratching some words onto the chalk board. He heard a few mumbles from his students and then the zippering of satchels. "Alchemy is the deconstruction and reconstruction of matter. This is a transmutation circle," Edward said stepping back from the board. "Though it is a simple one, it is useful enough. By drawing a transmutation circle you are basically drawing a code for what you want the matter to do. Do you want it to break down, separate, build, harden, or reform? It must be written in the circle." Edward looked at his class and saw the stupid dumbfounded expressions on their faces. He aggravatingly placed his hand in his hand. "Okay, who if you actually know a bit of simple chemistry?" Only a couple people raised their hands.

"Who of you know any of the laws of physics?" As he expected a few more people raised their hands. The Weasley twins had their hands raised for both questions and had a bit of gloating in the way they raised them. Edward let out a sigh.

"Alright take out your pencils," Edward said and turned back towards the board.

"Pencils?" he heard one of the students say. He turned around to face his class for a moment.

"Yeah, Pencils, pens, quills, chalk, crayons, markers, WRITING UTENSILS! I don't care what you call it, just something that you write with," Edward said. Just as he was about to turn around another voice called out.

"How old are you?" a Slytherin boy asked.

"Irrelevant," Edward retorted and turned back to the board to start to write the table of elements.

"But you can't be much older than my little sister," a Gryffindor student said. Edward only got to Oxygen before his chalk broke in half.

"WHO YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE COULD BE MISTAKEN FOR A SIX YEAR OLD! I AM FIFTEEN GOD DAMMIT!" Edward burst out. After catching a glimpse at his terrified class he let out a puff of air, and returned to writing the elements on the board. He pulled out a new piece of chalk and started to write.

"How did you get a teaching job if you are only fifteen?" a brave Slytherin asked innocently.

"Because I was assigned here by the president of my country," Edward said. Most of the students gave a few awes. When Edward finished writing the periodic table on the board he turned to see everyone staring at him. "Well? Why aren't you writing this down?" Several of the students fumbled with their quills and one managed to spill their ink well on their paper. Edward handed them another fresh length of parchment and took the dirty one. With a clap of his hands, he cleaned it off and gave it back to the student as well. As the students were writing, a few of them asked some more questions.

"What country are you from?" Fred asked.

"Amestris, next to Xing and Dracma."

"He sounds German to me," George commented.

"What are you deaf? He sounds more Russian!" Fred argued.

"No! I'd say Turkish! My uncle is Turkish, and he pronounces his double-ewes just like that!" said a slytherin girl near the front of the room.

"Shut up!" Edward said pinching the bridge of his nose. "I am from Resembool Amestris. My accent is amestrian. Now shut up and write the damn notes!" The class went silent again and the quills scratched down the papers.

"So, do you know the president on a first name basis?" a slytherin boy asked. Just as Edward was about to retort, something outside hit his window. Edward went over and opened it. All of a sudden, a tiny grey bird streaked through the window and landed on his desk. Edward heard a few giggles come from the class and realized that he was in a defensive stance aimed towards the bird. He cleared his throat and regained his posture and walked over to see what the bird was doing in his classroom. After inspecting the tiny sawwhet owl for a bit he noticed a letter tied around its ankle. When he unclipped it, the bird backed away as if nervous of something, but it didn't fly out the window. Edward read the envelope and found it addressed to him from Mustang. He flipped it over and broke the seal. The instant he did so a noise that sounded like a cannon was shot off, and Edward was flung across the room with a bang. The students looked startled and Fred and George ran over to see if he was alright.

"MUSTANG!" Edward screamed as he stood up and walked over to his desk. He could see the Colonel laughing at him as his bomb letter exploded in his face. Edward read the first sentence of the letter and nearly chucked it across the room. _'Evening Fullmetal. Just wanted to give you a taste of home. Took me a few days to perfect it.'_

"Professor are you alright?" a Slytherin asked.

"What was that?"

"That," Edward said, opening the envelope for his students to see. On the inside there was a small intricate combustion transmutation circle. "That my students," he chuckled, "was alchemy."

…

After the class let out, Remus came in to help Edward find his way down to the Great Hall, not wanting him to get lost again. Edward still had some scorch marks on him, which really got the best of Remus's curiosity, Edward just gave him a sheepish grin. Hagrid did not show up for dinner. This surprised most of the faculty including Severus, who seemed a little of set by the giant man's lack of presence. Towards the end of dinner, when Rubius still had yet to make an appearance, Edward decided to take some food down to his hut in order to cheer the man up. He was probably still upset about the events from earlier. Edward gathered a couple rolls and pieces of chicken on his plate, and then put double on it remembering that Hagrid was of larger stature, and wrapped it up in one of the napkins. He was guessing that this would worry the house elves a bit, whatever they were, but just decided to apologize later for it.

It was easy to find Hagrid's hut since he was out scoping the grounds earlier and for the fact htat his sense of direction was also better outside in the open. When Edward knocked on the door, he noticed that the porch lights were out and the window was drawn. He heard a little shuffling coming from the giant sized house and then a mumble that sounded like a 'come in'. Edward cautiously opened the door, but before he could step inside, a large hound pounced on him and tackled him to the ground. Luckily the food was set down prior to this in order to open the door, or else it would have been a blended mess. As the dog laid down on Edward's prone body, a couple of voices came from up on the hill.

"Professor! What are you doing!" Hermione cried. Edward gave her a little annoyed glare.

"What does it look like? I am dog sitting," he said sarcastically. Ron and Harry dragged the hound off of him and Edward brushed his clothes off. "Them dogs get me every time," he mumbled. After he picked up the food, he and the three students walked inside of Hagrid's hut.

The man was bawling his eyes out to say the least, and Edward silently wished that he brought his rain coat. The drunk giant was leaning over his half drank tank yard and his devoured dinner plate. Edward gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder while keeping a firm glare on his dog to make sure he didn't try anything tricky again.

"Hagrid, it could have happened to anyone. In my class, I opened an exploding letter from the Colonel. Nearly gave my class a heart attack," Edward said. Harry and Ron gave him curious looks. He wasn't any good at this, but Hagrid gave him another Armstrong hug and cried thankful waterfalls over his shoulder.

"Thank y-you for your help! I don't know what I would do w-without you lot!" Rubius cried. Hermione walked over and grabbed his gallon tankard off of the table.

"I think you had enough of this," Hermione said and walked outside to dump it. Edward tried to ease the large man off of his shoulder.

"Come on. Lets go get you cleaned up," He mumbled. The man had dirt and tear streaks all down his face, and his breath swirled of scotch. Hagrid reluctantly got up and walked outside. Hermione gave a little shriek from shock when Hagrid dumped his head in the rain bucket. While he was washing himself up, Edward unfortunately took his eye off of Fang and was jumped again and tackled to the floor.

"WAIT A SECOND!" Hagrid roared as he stormed back into his cabin with Hermione in tow. "What are you lot doing out of bed at this hour! It's nearly dark!"

"But Hagrid, we just wanted to make sure you were okay!" Ron pleaded innocence.

"I am not worth getting points taken off of your house now get back to yer dorms! The lot of you!" he barked. After Hagrid pried the dog off of Edward, he was reluctantly ordered to lead the trio back to their dorms. Luckily, Edward remembered to ask for a map of the school before he left, and Hagrid openly gave him one. With it, Edward started to lead the students back to their dorms, even though they already knew where to go. The walk was silent until the lot of them reached the grand staircase, then Ron piped up.

"So what happened with the exploding letter, Professor?" the red head asked remembering what Ed had said earlier.

"People got a few good laughs in," he mumbled and flipped the map around as they turned down the corridor. Looking at the trio's yearning faces he realized that that answer was not enough to silence them. "My C.O. decided that it would be funny to send me a prank letter and have it explode in my face when I opened it. Fire is sort of one of his specialties and he loves to…. How do I put this… rub it in my face. Literally."

"But if you are a muggle, how can someone send an exploding letter?" Harry asked stupidly. Edward rolled his eyes a bit.

"Why am I here?" Edward asked. He pulled the letter out of his coat pocket and gave the envelope to the three of them. He pointed one of his gloved fingers to the circle traced on the inside. "My C.O. is an alchemist as well. Unfortunately for the lot of us, he is a flame alchemist. Super powerful in the heat, completely useless when wet."

When they arrived to the portrait of the Fat Lady, Albus Dumbledore was waiting for him there. The trio had let themselves inside to their dormitories and Edward followed the headmaster to his new residence. The old fart led him back down to the Defense of the Dark Art's tower. They stopped in a corner just off of the Gunhilda Gorsemore Corridor. Edward looked around and noticed a strange looking statue a little ways down the hall. It was of a witch with one eye ball that seemed to follow you around. Edward gave a little shiver at the architecture. Seeing that there wasn't any door that they were at, Edward asked, "Where are we going?"

Dumbledore gave a light hearted chuckle. "We are just outside of your chambers. I am just waiting for Professor Flitwick to deliver the painting down here. Ah, here he is now," he said merrily. Edward turned his head to see a short, very short, man hobble down the way levitating a large painting behind him, the one eye creepily followed him as he passed. When the man came to the wall they were standing at, he lifted the painting up and hung it on the wall. It was covered in a burlap sheet so Edward couldn't see the image. Edward suddenly remembered that it was the Colonel who ordered this painting for him, and prepared himself for the worst. Mustang would do anything in order to spite him. As Flitwick removed the tapestry from the painting, Edward gave out a relieved sigh. It wasn't a booming picture of Roy wearing a royal crown, though the Colonel was in it. There was a picture of the Colonel standing with his subordinates which were Hawkeye, Falman, Fuery, Havoc, and Breda. Al stood off in the back ground towering over the group and Winry stood holding her wrench near Hawkeye. Black hayate even sat in the corner of the painting. Edward looked at the group photo, his heart tugging a little at the sight of them all. What made it even better was that the lot of them moved.

"I am guessing that you like it. Colonel Mustang sent the picture to use to have it painted. He also asked for a few more to be sent for inside your chambers or even in your office. He said that you left in such a rush you didn't grab anything for yourself," Dumbledore said cheerily. "Now if you would set a password, you may enter your chambers. I would pick something easy to remember." Edward thought long and hard about it but came up with a solution.

"three-ten," Edward said and the door swung open. There was no possible way that he could forget those numbers. He carried them around with him where ever he went.

"I was thinking more of a word, but that should suffice," Dumbledore said calmly and led Elric into his circular chambers. There was a large covered bed in the middle of the room and a couple bookshelves underneath the windows. A fireplace was just aside of the wall and a desk was placed right next to it. Off in the Antechamber was a bathroom with a shower. Edward noticed that there were a stack of paintings leaning against one of the walls and that the house elves did indeed bring his small duffle to the room for it was laying on the bed. After the small tour, Dumbledore turned to leave. "Well, Now that everything is in order, I will leave you for the night," he said cheerfully.

"Wait, Dumbledore," Edward said stopping the old man in his tracks. "I recently got a letter from the Colonel."

"Ah, yes. The exploding one. I heard about that," Dumbledore said reflecting a bit.

"He says that he would like to come here during the second to the fourth of October in order to perform my State Alchemist assessment. Do you think that will be possible?" Edward said handing the letter to him. Dumbledore looked at the letter briefly and tucked it into his pocket.

"Why yes, I will send him and owl in the morning expecting his arrival. We will get a room prepared as well. With that said, I would like to bid you a good night," Dumbledore answered and left Edward to his own devices.


	4. A Month of Misery

**Wow, I just can't seem to write less than six thousand words. I am surprising my self at this rate. Here is another chapter with a couple of fun parts to it. I hope you like it. Next chapter...MUSTANG! Can't wait to finish it for ya'll.**

CHAPTER 4

A Month of Misery

Edward didn't have his third years until Thursday. Until then Edward was busy hustling about the first years and trying to deal with George and Fred's shenanigans, who found it hilarious to put a live tarantula in his chalk box. Unfortunately for them, he wasn't too thrilled and gave them detention that night. Edward had already looked through the paintings that mustang sent him and set them up in his classroom and chambers. Most of them were actually photographs of Resembool that Winry had taken and given to Mustang to send, and others were old family pictures of him and Al as kids. The students in his class liked to take a bit of time to study the rolling hills in the pictures and the little houses up on the hills. On frequent occasions, Edward would find that the armoured picture of Al would tend to go running off to another canvas and bring back one of the cats from neighboring photos. Luckily for him, however, the student's didn't find it weird that the armour was empty whenever the picture took off its helmet to polish it or empty its stomach of felines. They just guessed that it was just the way the photo was painted. Like a movie, sometimes photos have glitches too right?

When Edward was walking down the corridor, he heard a couple screams of both fear and laughter coming from Professor Lupin's classroom. Apparently he was literally teaching something ridikulos to the students. Edward however continued down the way not wanting to disturb the lesson. Later in the day, Edward's third year Gryffindor/Slytherin class met up in his room for their double lesson. It looked like Ron, Hermione, and Harry were all seated comfortably on one end of the room and were glaring daggers at the whimpering and bandaged blond boy on the other. Edward could only guess that he was the infamous Malfoy. Ignoring the tention in the room however, Edward walked up to the chalk board and flipped it over to where the periodic table of elements was still engraved in it.

"Put your wands away. If I see any of you take them out in this class, you get detention for a week. You will not be needing them here," Edward said as if it was drilled into his brain. After a few hushed whispers the students obliged. That is, all except one.

"Put our wands away? I thought this was a _magic_ school, not some muggle workshop," Draco scoffed. The large football player Crabbe gave his own grunt at the boy's comment. Edward took out a piece of chalk from the box, checking beforehand to see if there were any leftover tarantulas, and started to draw a transmutation circle on the floor.

"If you wanted to know, Mr. Malfoy, Alchemy is a science, not sorcery, therefore wands are not needed. As for the muggle comment I will let that slide for now, but next time think before you decide to get snippity with a teacher, even if they aren't exactly magical," Edward said calmly and continued to draw the circle on the floor, but Draco wasn't finished.

"How old are you? You look a little short to be a teacher if you ask me," the boy sneered. Luckily for Edward the transmutation circle was done, like he needed it, and Edward immediately activated it. As the electrical sparks shot out of the circle, the ground around Draco started to shift and mold. A giant stone fist shot out of the earth and pinned the boy to his seat. Crabbe gave an alerted scream, so did Patsy, while the other kids, even the Slytherins, shouted oohs and awes at the transmutation. Edward got up off of the ground and walked back over behind his desk.

"Well, then. Draco I bet you already figured out that you have detention with me tonight," Edward said trying to hold back his aggravation. He then turned to the class, "If you wanted to know, that was alchemy," he began, "The circle that I drew there on the floor, is called a transmutation circle. If you want to get up to look at it you may." Most of the students got up and peered at the strange circle, all that is except for Draco. After the class sat back down, Edward walked over to the circle again and activated it to let Malfoy go out of his bonds.

"This circle is code for what you want the materials you are working with to do," Edward continued. "Alchemy is the science of deconstruction and reconstruction of matter. Those of you who have a simple knowledge of the _muggle_ sciences of chemistry and physics, will be better off in this class than the rest," he said glaring daggers at Draco. "With that said, could you please take out your writing utensils and copy down the Periodical table of Elements on the board up here. If you have any _lesson_ related questions, feel free to ask," Edward said and then took a seat at his desk. He propped his feet up on the wood and started to read the Alchemy text book in search of unmentionables. After a few minutes however, Edward heard one of his students whine. It was Draco.

"Ron, my arm is injured, can you help me write my notes? You have terribly good handwriting and with my arm, well," he started to guilt trip. Surprisingly, Ron actually was going to do it, though that grimace on his face told otherwise. Edward pinched the bridge of his nose for a moments and moaned in annoyance. After a few seconds, he walked down the rows of tables to stand above Malfoy.

"Arm," Edward ordered. Draco clutched his bandaged arm defensively. "_Arm_," he repeated. Draco reluctantly handed over his wounded limb and Edward unwrapped it. Yes, the scar was ugly, Edward would give him that. The crevice where the talon of hippogriff ran down his arm was nasty and puckered red as it was still trying to heal. He saw that Madam Promfery did to a lot to try and fix it, otherwise Edward expected it to be at least a few centimeters deeper. However, it was nothing to cry about, well, nothing that _he_ would cry about anyway. Edward mumbled a bit and clapped his hands together. Draco looked at him with utter fear as the electrical sizzle of alchemic energy filled the room. In an instant, the ghastly wound reverted itself into an extremely tiny papercut. The class applauded but he ignored them. Edward grabbed the leftover bandages and then shoved a quill into Draco's hands.

"If I were you," Edward said, "I wouldn't be complaining over a tiny flesh wound. Learning how to use your left hand isn't that hard." He walked up to the front of the room and then deposited the bandages in the rubbish bin. Ron looked at him like he was his savior.

"How did you do that?" a Slytherin girl asked.

"That was called medical alchemy. What I did was a simple form of it, however, I don't want any of you, ANY of you to try any transmutations if not in the presence of me or Dumbledore. And NEVER, ever in your goddamn lives, perform any alchemy on another human no matter how good your stupid intentions are. For if you do, I can assure you, that your lives would be a living hell, if not gone by the time that you are finished," he threatened them. All of their faces turned a sickly white.

…..

"I heard that you scared your students today," Lupin chuckled as they ate lunch in the Great Hall. It started to rain that afternoon and it set Edward in a not so happy mood. Edward grunted and went back to eating his clam chowder. "It is a teacher's greatest joy to see a student thrive in their class," Remus said to cheer him up a bit.

"However it is their greatest thrill to scare them a bit," Severus added. The three of them laughed.

"That I must agree to you there Severus," Remus said.

"I heard that you were scaring your students too, Remus. What were you doing in the staff room?" Edward inquired.

"I was teaching my students how to handle a boggart. I thought it would be a fun way to start off the year. They found it both frightening and hilarious. I think I gave them the spook bug, I dare say. Several of my students are now trying to scare their peers by jumping out from corners," Remus replied. Just then, Poppy came over to the table and started to pull Lupin away.

"Oh dear, you must have eaten something terrible, come with me," she said to him and dragged him out of his chair. Edward, however, thought that Remus looked completely fine, if not the best he ever was. Remus gave him a shy shrug but then caught his direct eye contact for a moment. Edward didn't realize that Lupin's eyes were acutally yellow and not brown as the thought they were. Remus paused for a second and stopped Poppy in her tracks.

"You know, Elric, why don't you come with me for a minute, you don't look so well either," Lupin said. Poppy got the hint of what the man was insinuating and started to haul Edward off as well, completely against his will. She said it was simply a preliminary precaution. Severus was left at the table with two half eaten bowls of clam chowder.

The hospital ward was completely silent except for the patter of rain on the roof. Edward felt a twinge in his right shoulder and started to massage it a bit. Poppy took the two of them over to the medicine cabinet and emptied a bottle of grey slushy solution into two glasses. "I am afraid that you are going to have to get Severus to make some more, Remus. This is the last bottle, but I am sure that you will be fine for this month," she said as she handed to two of them the glasses. Lupin drank it without thinking about it, but Edward peered at it through all sides of the glass. The grey mass of liguid was cold to the touch but seemed to be boiling with the way it moved about the glass.

"What is it?" Edward asked her. She looked down at him sternly.

"It is just a precaution," she said simply. "Now down the hatch before I shove it down for you." Edward didn't know that the nurse could be so threatening, but he drank it anyway. To his surprise, the foul looking drink didn't taste half bad. Lupin looked absolutely disgusted by the solution. It tasted like a dry bowl of hazelnuts without any sugar, however, the solution was so cold, shivers were sent down his spine and his automail groaned in protest. As he swallowed, he clasped his shoulder and massaged it a bit.

"Yes, dearie, I know it is cold. I am sorry about that but that is just how it is," Poppy apologized as she took the cup from him and his colleague. Lightning rang outside and the thunder followed, making Edward's leg finally clamp up. As he was of course in midstride, this sent him reeling to the ground. Lupin, s bit startled, helped him up and set him on a nearby chair. Edward then began to frantically massage his leg.

"Do you have anything for this?" Edward asked hopefully as his leg started to regain a bit of movement back into it. He hit it a few times underneath the kneecap and the leg let go of its tensions for a bit. Lupin looked down at him a bit puzzled, but Poppy rushed over to him and whipped out her wand. "Unfortunately, I don't have any permanent fixture, but I think this will do. Remus could you step outside for a moment?" Poppy asked him. Lupin looked at her questionably but then made his way towards the door.

"No Poppy. It's alright, Remus can stay. It isn't like he wasn't going to find out sooner or later," Edward said just as Remus reached for the handle.

"Are you sure?" Poppy asked doubtfully. Edward gave her a shallow nod.

"I am not a shamed of having them, it isn't like what happened to my brother. They're just a pain in bloody weather," Edward said. "It also isn't like I am going to be flaunting them around the school or anything." Poppy nodded her head and Remus came back over a little curious about what they were bickering about. The nurse ordered Edward to take off his jackets and roll up his pant leg. After laying the coat and jacked on the back of the chair, he turned to let Poppy do her magic. Literally. The patron tapped his leg with her wand and muttered a few words. A pink glow lightly fell upon it and then faded. The same thing happened to his arm. It didn't take away the pain in his ports, but the motion had fully come back to it. Edward swung his arm around and stretched it out a bit. Moved like any other normal day.

"Thanks! This is amazing!" Edward said.

"I put a climate control spell on it so the humidity won't stiffen the joints. Unfortunately, there isn't much I can do about your shoulder pain. I know how prosthetics are on you folks. However, these spells are only temporary like your translation spell so I will need to renew them every couple of weeks," Poppy said as she put her wand back in her robes. The two of them were completely oblivious to Remus's state of shock.

"I have seen a lot in my life," Lupin began to chuckle a bit after he recovered from the blow Edward's limbs gave him, "But things still surprise me. I couldn't even begin to imagine."

"Most people can't," Edward said as he put his jacket back on. "But could you please keep this quiet? I don't want anyone thinking I am a bloody cripple. That just gets annoying." Edward slipped his gloves back on and patted Remus on the back. "Welp, it looks like we both are going to be visiting here a lot," he chuckled. Poppy gave out a snort in return and the two men walked out of the ward to go to their classes.

"So how did this happen?" Remus asked when they were crossing the suspended bridge. The rain pelted their faces and Edward's port whined a bit, but they didn't stiffen up.

"Childhood stupidity would be the best answer and I will just leave it at that," Edward replied casually. Lupin though still curious, took respect of Edward and left the subjects hang there. He wasn't one to push into unhappy matters, for he himself had a few things that weren't the least bit thrilling about his life.

…

The study hall was quiet and only Edward, Ron, Harry, and Hermione sat in it to study for a while. He was in there with his notebook and the alchemy text book lying open infront of him. He still needed to search for any sources of blasphemy written in it. It wasn't like he didn't trust the famous Flamel to write a decent book, just sometimes you never know. The only time that Edward looked up from his work was when the trio entered surprisingly through the bookcase. It must have been a secret passage of some sort; all castles seem to have these. The three students walked in and sat at the table near Edward and started to talk about a few school subjects and the field trip to the town of Hogsmede. Ron started to bicker with Hermione as her cat started to hiss and claw at the boy trying to get his rat. The cat pounced and the rat ran. Dodging a couple of feet and chair legs, the rat bounded underneath Edward's study table. Trying to get the tactical approach to the situation and take the high advantage, the cat bounded across the tables in the direction that the rat meant. The cat was bounding towards where Edward was seated and was about to run over his study books, but without looking Edward casually lifted his book out of the way and the cat made safe passage.

"CATCH THAT CAT!" Ron screamed fuming as he ran out of the room. Hermione panicked in fear of her beloved pet and chased down the hall after him. Harry was left all alone in the room with a studying Edward. Harry was still disseated on the topic of hogsmede however. The Dursleys refused to sign his permission slip after the incident with Marge the flying zeppelin. Harry scooted over to the table where Edward sat working and sat across from him.

"Hey Professor," Harry said waiting for a sign of acknowledgement, when after a few long seconds he got none, Harry continued. "Professor I was wondering if you could sign my permission slip for me so that I could go to the village trip on Halloween." A few more seconds went by without any sign signaling that Edward was still alive except the constant flipping of pages. Harry was about to leave when Edward burst out in a rage.

"He did it!" Edward exclaimed ripping a paper out of the textbook. "I can't believe he would do something this stupid! Flamel of all people!" Harry nearly fell back in his chair from the outburst. Edward looked up as if just noticing he was there but then held out his hand. "You, you are in my class correct?" Edward asked just to receive a stupefied nod. Edward looked over to where the boy and his friends were sitting before. All of their bags were there. "Go get your text books, yours and your friends," he ordered. Harry was a little confused by the order, but obliged and followed the teachers instructions. He brought the three textbooks over and Edward flipped through them and tore out a single page from all three. Harry didn't know how to react when he saw the teacher mangling the textbooks. Edward crumbled up all of the pages and stuffed them down into his duffle bag, which he was now just using as a satchel since he had none. He tossed the books individually back at Harry, who clumsily caught all but one.

"Sorry about your text books but it is for your own good," Edward said grimly as he started to pack up his bag and put his notebook back into his coat pocket. "I will be collecting all the rest of the pages from your classmates tomorrow. I can't believe that he put something like that in there," the professor said in disgust. As Edward started to walk out of the fourth floor study hall, Harry decided to follow him.

"Professor!" Harry called after him. Edward didn't slow down for the kid so Harry had to run to catch up. "Professor, what about my permission slip?" Harry asked stupidly. It was a pitiful attempt to get to Hogsmede but he had to try. Edward looked at him like he was crazy.

"Your what?" Edward asked as they rounded the corner into the one eyed witch cooridor.

"My permission slip to the village on Halloween, I asked you to sign it, remember?" Edward tried to reflect back, but he was coming up with a blank. He was working so he barely even remembered anything going on around him.

"No I don't remember, sorry. This sort of happens when I am working," Edward said as they approached his chamber portrait. Edward noticed that the pastel Alphonse was standing nervously in the corner and that Black Hayate was barking at him. This but Breda on edge and he was nearly tackling Falman in fear. Breda hates dogs. "Al, drop the cat," Edward scolded his painted brother. Harry looked at the teacher like he was crazy, they were the only two in the corridor, but then Harry noticed the portrait in front of them.

"But Brother!" the armour whined, "I found him in the middle of nowhere! He was all alone!"

"Al! You found him in another painting, now go put it back!" Edward commanded. Just then the armour seemed to burst into tears, if that was possible, and run down through neighboring pictures. Harry almost thought he could hear little cries coming from a kitten that he couldn't see.

"How can you be so cruel!" the armour screamed and rushed down the way. Edward hollered after him.

"Don't run! Think of the kitten!"

"I am thinking of the kitten, it is you who isn't!" the voice cried and then disappeared around the corner. Edward dragged his hands down his face in exhaustion and started to walk after the missing person. Harry regained his senses and followed after him.

"Sir," Harry said getting Elric's slightest attention as they raced down the hall.

"Oh, right, your permission slip. Why didn't you get it signed by your parents?" Edward asked him. Harry was a little baffled by this. EVERYONE knew what had happened to him thirteen years ago. Even muggles knew what happened to him, to some extent. It was in both newspapers.

"Sir, my parents are dead," Harry said a little taken aback.

"What about your guardian or best friend of a long distant relative? When my mother died, I got help from one of my neighbors and her grandmother," Edward said to him nonchalantly. His eyes were rapidly casting about the portraits in search for Al.

"Well, that's just it. My uncle and aunt, well, they aren't the nicest of people, and they didn't sign it after an incident that happened this summer," Harry said.

"Come on, it couldn't have been _that_ bad," Edward said. When they rounded the corner, they found the suit of armour sitting in a portrait of a field of daisies near a small pond. Al looked back at them defiantly holding the black and white stripped kitten that Harry recognized from a picture on the fifth floor corridor.

"Sir, I accidentally turned my muggle aunt into a zeppelin," Harry mumbled. Edward looked at him with a strange face and then nearly burst out laughing. Al came running into the foreground of the picture still holding the cat.

"Wait, you what?" the childish voice came out. Harry was a little disturbed talking to a voice inside a suit of armour, especially when it was painted to the canvas.

"I guess that was pretty disastrous," Edward chuckled. He then casually turned to the painting and flicked the portrait frame. Al went tumbling and lost hold of the kitten, which used that opportunity to escape from the armour's clutches. "Now Alphonse, get back to the portrait," Edward ordered.

"But brother!" it whined, but Edward just gave the suit one more death glare and it started to slowly stumble back to the Gunhilda Gorsemore Corridor. With a sigh, Edward turned back to face Harry. "Hell Harry, I would sign it but in all truth I can't" Edward said rubbing the back of his neck tiredly. "I am not of legal age to do so and I also am not your guardian. If it makes you feel any better I can't go as well. I also needed to sign a permission slip, but I don't have any parents to sign it, and I left Amestris so fast that I couldn't get anyone else to." Harry looked back at the professor nearly forgetting that he was only two years older than him. Harry gave Edward a pitiful smile and thanks. Just as he was about to depart ways, Edward called out to him.

"Tell you what Harry, I am bound to have to take a trip to London to get some more school supplies, I will see if I can get you and your friends to tag along. I know it isn't Hogsmede, but it is something." Harry was a little enlightened by this and agreed to it before he left. Edward was getting a little bit better at this emotion stuff, and it was only Thursday.

…..

The Weasley twins entered the alchemy classroom for their detention and Edward immediately sent them to work filing a sending a couple of letters for him. Most of it consisted of reports to send to Mustang and then a few personal letters to Winry, Al, and Granny Pinako. While they were folding papers and stuff, Edward sat across from them and practiced using the quills and fountain ink. It was harder than it looked trying to keep the ink to stay on the quill and write with it at the same time. Not to mention left handed. Edward was originally right handed before the incident but ever since then he had to become left handed due to the fact that though automail can make very delicate and accurate movements, he would always end up gripping the pencil too hard and breaking it due to the lack of touch. Mustang would always gripe and groan about how sloppy his chicken scratch was, but through the years his hand writing did improve to the point of perfect legibility. It was now the factor of how to use the utensil itself. The twins laughed a little at his pitiful attempts to write, but Edward ignored them. At least he wasn't stuck stuffing envelopes. A little while into the session, Draco Malfoy came into the room for his own detention period. The Weaslys grimaced a bit at their new arrival, but kept quiet about it. Instead of sending Draco to fix letters, however, Edward dragged him out of the classroom, and into the privacy of the Armoury. After the door closed behind them, verifying that they were alone, Edward turned on Draco.

"When my father hears about having a muggle class in the school lead by a muggle teacher, he will be furious," the kid spat not even caring that it was he who was in detention.

"Cut the crap Draco," Edward said and the boy looked instantly taken aback. "Who cares what your father thinks anyway? It is just one opinion, it doesn't mean that you have to follow him around like a puppy," Edward continued.

"I don't follow my father around like a measly dog," Draco defended himself, but Edward cut him off.

"My father this, my father that, of course you do, you are like is automatic broadcasting system. Do you really think that trying to get Hagrid fired is going to make your life at the school any better? No. It is just a stupid half assed opinion that your father decided to drill into you. Next time you decide to take action to 'better' the community why don't you take it from your own perspective. Do YOU really want this? Or does your father? Today in class you were letting Patsy go all over you about your arm, just to prove the point that the hippogriff nearly mauled your arm off. You don't even like Patsy!" Edward exclaimed.

"I do like Patsy!" Draco argued pitifully.

"Not like that," Edward retorted. "The point is, don't go doing something stupid just to please your father." Draco looked shocked a bit at Edward's argument. This was some weird detention, but the lecture was none the less true. Yet Draco couldn't accept it.

"Well," Malfoy scoffed at him, "What do you know about parents? I bet your Dad had perfect expectations for you." Edward laughed at his retort.

"If I were to have followed my father's guidance, I would be laying half dead in a roadside ditch," Edward said. Just then the clock rang eight, and Edward sent Draco back down to his common room. The boy was still defiant, but Edward could tell he understood what he was saying. Lesson learned. When Edward got back to the classroom, the Weasly twins were finished stuffing envelopes and were now writing alchemy homework on a plank page of parchment. They looked a little offset that Draco wasn't with him.

"Where's Malfoy?" Fred asked.

"You didn't kill him did you? I heard what you did in my brother's class," George said.

"I didn't kill him you idiots," Edward mumbled and flopped back down into his chair to review their work. "I sent him back to his common room after a small lecture."

"He insults you and gets a lecture, we pull a funny and are forced to file papers," Fred cried out.

"I see complete logic in that!" George said without dropping a bit of sarcasm. Edward picked up an envelope that was addressed to Mustang and flipped it over.

"No, I wanted you to sort my envelopes so I can show you something. I thought that you would appreciate it," Edward said. He got up and grabbed glass of water and the rock he was using as a paperweight from his desk and walked back over to their table. The Weasly twins were a bit curious at what their teacher was doing. "Call it a learning hands on exercise if you may," Edward said with an evil smirk identical to the ones the twins usually wore when they were about to prank someone. They immediately became very interested.

"You two are my brightest students aside from Neville Longbottom, strangely enough, but are not to the stage of doing actual transmutations yet. However that doesn't mean I can't still teach you the concepts behind it," Edward said. The twins took the complement well and leaned in to see what Edward was drawing on the table. He drew a series of three corresponding transmutation circles, all of which were very similar, and then another one on the inside of the envelope. "I know you two are pranksters, just don't try this by yourself until you are ready, which my guess would be about Christmas at the speed you are taking off at."

Edward clapped his hands and transmuted the glass of water and rock into a soupy source of mud and then brought the twin's attention over to the circles he drew. "In order to do this, you must proof the paper. For my own variation I am going to need to water proof it by turning the molecules of the paper nonpolar and make them hydrophobic." Edward placed the letter on the first circle and activated it. The twins smiled as they caught on to what he was doing. Edward did the same to the envelope.

"Now, put the pieces together," Edward said as he folded the letter into the envelope and poured the mud into it. He then placed the letter on the third circle. "In order for this to work, the seal needs to be completely tight."

"In order to create a vacuum!" Fred said excitedly.

"And then we put the contents under pressure!" George announced.

"And then…"

"Boom!" they both said together laughing.

"Correct," Edward said smiling at them. He sealed the letter with the third circle and then placed his hand on the envelope where the transmutation was drawn on the inside and activated it putting the envelope under pressure. "Since you need to seal the envelope first however, a transmutation circle on the outside won't work for condensing the air on the inside. So that is why there has to be one on the inside."

"Is this what that guy did to you when you opened the letter?" George asked. Edward nodded his head.

"Yes, but that bastard used flames. Since I am not a flame specialist I can't do that without probably burning the office down," Edward said. The twins looked excited at this. Never once did a teacher show them how to use the subject for pranks. Then again, none of the teachers were ever the same age as they were to begin with. After a few more creative projects that the twins asked for to give to some of their friends, Edward sent them off to their dormitories to get some rest. It was about time he hit the hay as well.

….

"Can you believe what he said to me?" Draco said to his peers at the breakfast table the next morning. "I was never insulted so much in my entire life!" Crabbe and Goyle nodded dumbly behind him and took a few more Danishes to their plates.

"He took you to detention to scold you about that?" a Ravenclaw girl said next to him.

"He shouldn't be speaking to you like that. Your father is of high position in the Ministry," another girl said next to him.

"Most people are afraid to talk like that to your father," a Slytherin boy said.

"Buzz off Micheal," Malfoy said to the kid. He never liked Micheal, too pitiful. Draco turned back to the rest of them. "But he is right. Muggles should be quivering in fear, not barging in and taking over the place. If my father saw a muggle of all people talking to ANY wizard like that, he would have a fit."

"Well, Professor Elric did take down the Whomping Willow," Micheal said. "More than one time actually. It seems like he does it for morning practice now."

"I thought I told you to beat it Micheal!" Draco growled and the kid sped off to another table farther down. He gave a sigh. "But it is true. Elric doesn't seem to be afraid of anything, but he must have something to fear. He can't be all block and bones. I want to know what."

…..

"He took our pages?" Hermione gasped as she held her tortured book in the light of the Gryffindor Common room. Ron was still mad at Hermione for having her cat chase Scabbers around the place, but he too was investigating his book.

"Why on Earth would he do that?" Ron asked as he feebly held his book out at arms length inspecting it like it was infected.

"Maybe it had something to do with the warning he gave us in class after he fixed Draco's arm. Maybe like magic there is some dark alchemy of some sort," Harry said suspiciously. The three of them pondered at the thought for a moment but laughed at the silly notion.

"Alchemy is a science, like that could ever happen," Hermione said.

"What's he going to do? Transmute a tea cup that shoots lazers?" Ron joked. The group paused a bit to continue thinking about it.

"But I do want to find out what was on that page," Hermione started up again. "It looks like it was page 310. Harry did the Professor say anything about the book before you left?" Harry shook his head remembering the long conversation they had with the painting in the corridor. The actual conversation about the books was short if nonexistent.

"No, he did say that he would collect the other students' papers during their lesson," Harry said.

"Then we still have a chance! Lets go!" Ron said and the three of them ran out of the dormitories their bags in tow. They found a young first year alchemist in the Great Hall for lunch. They still had their book with them and Hermione asked to borrow it for the period. Of course being respectful of their elders, the polite young first year agreed, and the trio sat at the lunch table with piles of sandwiches around them and page 310 in their hands. The page was just a simple chart with a couple of examples of transmutation circle variations. It started from the easiest circle that they were learning in class that day, and it became so complex Hermione didn't even know what it was for.

"This doesn't make sense," Harry said, "Why would Elric go through so much just to keep us from looking at a stupid chart?" his friends shrugged and studied the circles a bit. They didn't learn about translating the circles yet, just what they did. Edward was going to teach them how to translate them next week. As they huddled around the piece of parchment, the door to the great hall opened and roar of laughter followed. Edward came stumbling in with his legs locked together. He was comically jumping down the aisles until he fell down to the floor at their feet. He muttered a few curses as he tried to sit up in a more comfortable position.

"Are you alright, Professor?" Ron asked stupidly. Edward glared daggers at him.

"Yes, I am perfectly fine with losing the capability of moving my legs," he said sarcastically. He tried to pry his legs apart with his hands but to no avail. "Those stupid bastards, shot me in the back while I was locking my classroom," Edward huffed.

"Who did this to you?" Hermione asked.

"A group of bloody Ravenclaw kids. They thought it was funny that a muggle couldn't defend himself, now whose by their robes in the third floor trophy room," Edward said with a twinkle of mischief in his eye. "Do any of you know how to undo this?" he asked motioning to his legs. Hermione gave a quick nod and threw the counter curse at his legs, but strangely it bounced off of his right knee cap and went sailing to the bewitched ceiling. The group of them stared at where the shot disappeared for a little bit.

"Try it again on my right one," Edward said. Hermione shot another one at his right leg and the curse was lifted. Edward stood up and stretched his legs out good as new. "Thank you for that," he said and took a seat on the bench next to them. He let out a large sigh and grabbed a sandwich off one of the plates.

"I don't know what will happen to me here if this keeps up," Edward sighed and took a bite of the tuna sandwich. The three students were a little awkward at the fact that a teacher was sitting with them for lunch.

"What do you mean Professor?" Ron asked.

"Well, I know that I am a muggle and not even of age, but that doesn't mean go around the school with pitch forks and all. I mean seriously, for a teacher to only have control of half of their class is like suicide. I don't know what Mustang was thinking of when he ordered me here," Edward moaned.

"Well, at least you have control over half your class right? And the half that you do seem to really like you, even a couple of the girls in my brother's class won't stop talking about you. So you're not a lost cause," Ron said trying to cheer him up. Edward just gave him an awkward confused look like what he said was the most absurd thing anyone could think off. He brushed it off with another sigh though. It was then however that Edward noticed that they had their alchemy book open and page three hundred and ten was poking out of it. "Book," he ordered. The three reluctantly handed it over and Edward tore the page out of it and crumbled it up.

"but professor, why do you care about that page? Why are you tearing them all out?" Harry asked. Edward looked at him as if he all of a sudden got extremely tire.

"There are certain things that you shouldn't do with alchemy. They go against the laws of all that is natural in this world. The cost to perform these transmutations is so high that most people don't come out of it alive, and worst part is that they don't work. It is impossible. I am taking these pages so that you can't attempt to make that mistake," Edward said. Taking a couple more sandwiches, he got up and walked out of the great hall just as a group of ruffled Ravenclaws came scurrying in. The three friends looked at each other and then back at where their teacher disappeared.

….


	5. Fight or Flight

**Okay here is the long awaited chapter! Yay! It gets a little serious but not too much. Nothing that will make you go, BAH! WHAT JUST HAPPENED! nothing like that. I would like to thank all of the people that posted a comment on my previous chapters. I hope you like it.**

CHAPTER 5

Fight or Flight

The weeks went by pretty smoothly for Edward. Draco stopped interrupting in class and he constantly helped the Weasly twins with some of their precious pranks. Severus still doesn't know who sealed his cauldron spoon to the wall. The classes were going by in a breeze. Edward got the students to learn the basic concepts and laws of Alchemy and finished teaching them how to translate circles. Of course by this time, Edward already collected all sources of page three hundred and ten. Edward only had a few mishaps in his class, one happened during his class of second years where his translations spell wore off and he started to teach the class entirely in Amestrian.

He and Lupin were constantly taking trips to Madam Promfery's office in order to take a few potions and get Edward's climate spells renewed. Edward still didn't know why he was taking the potion, but trusted Poppy's authority and didn't question it.

It was the second of October, and Edward was forced to dress in his military uniform to his distaste. Mustang recently sent him a letter saying that he was expected to wear it for the time his commanding officer was on the premises, something about respect or what not. Edward was planning not to wear it but a house elf, he finally found out what they were, found his letter and forced Edward to wear it for his own betterment. After he and the house elf duked it out, the house elf winning because of his magical advantage, Edward went down to the Great Hall for breakfast that Wednesday morning. He tried to ignore the stares that the students were giving him, but when the teachers saw him in his royal blue outfit, he could have died of humiliation. He sat at the breakfast table with his head hung low in shame.

"Edward, what are you wearing?" Severus asked him. Edward took the Colonel's letter out of his pocked and handed it to him. Snape skimmed it with a translation spell and Edward could hear his silent fits of laughter.

"So, this is what yer look like in the military," Rubius said gleaming down at the young dressed man. "Well, yer look mighty spiffy to me, almost like a groom."

"I am not getting married!" Edward yelled and slammed his head down on the table in frustration. "I can't take this anymore! He isn't even coming until the evening! Why do I have to wear these rags all day!" he mumbled into the table.

"Out of respect. It is probably tradition in your country to do so," Minivera said quietly as she ate a muffin.

"I bet this is Colonel's way of getting back at me for kicking his butt the last time we fought," Edward said suspiciously. The table laughed a bit and as the morning wore on, Edward saw a few students dressed in strange robes and carrying brooms. He saw Harry among them and he was looking tired as ever. "What are they doing over there?" he said motioning over his shoulder to the color coordinated team. Just then he heard a booming voice above him.

"That is the Gryffindor Quidditch team, one of the finest at the school. You will soon be joining them in a moment," Madam Hooch informed him.

"Oh…wait, WHAT?" Edward exclaimed a bit startled. He hopped out of his chair and faced Madam. She was not defaced at all by this and gave him a disapproving look.

"Yes Mr. Elric. All Hogwart's teachers need to learn how to fly. Though you are a muggle, that pendent around your neck will let the broom identify with you, which means that you are going to have to ride a broom." Madam Hooch said to him sternly. "I took the responsibility of cancelling your morning classes in order for you to join the Gryffindor team out on the field. Make sure that you are there." Madam Hooch left a stunned Elric standing at the breakfast table as she headed off to prep the field for the morning practice. Edward slumped back down in his chair in a state of complete disbelief. Remus gave him a comforting pat on the back.

"Don't worry, I am sure you will do fine," he reassured him.

"It isn't like anyone died on their first broom ride," Severus added with an evil smirk. If there was one thing that Edward hated, it was the concept of levitation. It defied all laws of gravity and was completely illogical. What Edward hated more was heights.

…..

Edward paced around at the quidditch pitch nervously waiting for Madam Hootch to come and end his life with a broomstick. The Gryffindor team was getting an inspiring talk about their goals for the season and the Quidditch cup. Edward was thinking about his goal to not fall off of the broom while in midair. By the time Madam got out to the field, the Gryffindor team had already begun practice. They were swooping and ducking around like they themselves were born with wings. The students made it look so easy. Edward felt sick. Madam Hooch arrived and dropped a flimsy and beated broom down at his feet. It was the tiniest piece of wood he had ever seen. How on earth was he supposed to ride it?

"Now before we begin our flying lesson, do you have any questions?" Madam Hooch asked as she gripped her clip board to her chest.

"Do you have a waver?" Edward asked and the flying instructor hit him nonchalantly cross the head with her board.

"No funny business here Elric. You are here to fly. Now to begin, I will have you kick off the ground a bit and hover there for a few seconds. If I feel that you are stable enough I will let you move around a bit," she said. Edward tossed his uniform jacket to the side so that it won't get dirty. He wore a black long sleeved shirt underneath instead of the tee-shirt that the other officers usually wore for obvious reasons. Edward then nervously picked up the broom with his left hand and mounted it. For some reason, Edward thought that if the broom could have emotions, it would be angry because he felt a low hum come from the wooden handle. He looked uncertainly at Madam Hooch then back at the broom. It didn't look stable enough to support two hundred pounds of flesh and metal.

"What is the carrying capacity on these things?" he asked fretfully.

"Just get in the air Elric," Hooch commanded. She blew her whistle and Edward kicked off of the ground to hover there. Unfortunately, his automail must have been offsetting the balance of the broom and he started to shift to his right a bit. His grip on the broom was a bit weak because with the movement Edward slipped upside down on the stick and was hovering above the ground with his head closest thing to it. "What are you doing Elric?" Madam Hooch asked him, frankly a bit annoyed. Edward had his eyes clenched tight as he held onto the broomstick for dear life.

"Dying from a heart attack!" he screamed. A couple of the team members circled around the area he was practicing to watch his pathetic attempt at flying. The Weasly twins started to cheer him on and Edward slowly opened his eyes. Somehow the broom had righted itself and calibrated to his off balanced body. Madam looked him up and down for a second and grunted.

"It's not perfect form but it shall suffice. Now get flying," She ordered and the second she blew the whistle a stunned Edward was shot off into the air. He didn't know how to steer that thing and frankly didn't want to. He was flying at a ninety degree angle from the ground straight up in the air screaming at the top of his lungs. Every second he flew, his hatred of heights grew. Edward drew his knees into the broom and pulled back on the crazy thing in an attempt to stop it from sending him into space. Unfortunately, he stopped a little faster than expected and was nearly thrown off over the front of the broom. He found himself upside down again but this time he was at least five stories in the air. Edward glued himself to the broom and closed his eyes hoping that he would just return safely to the ground. But that wasn't going to happen.

"Professor, what are you doing just hanging around," Edward heard Fred say right next to him. He didn't dare open his eyes to see if he was right though. The twins gave a chuckle at each other.

"Don't worry Professor," Fred said.

"We'll help you through it," added George happily.

Edward felt the sensation of movement and after a few seconds he slowly opened his eyes again. George and Fred each had a hand on his broomstick and were slowly flying him back closer to the earth where he would be a little calmer. Edward shakily sat up and grabbed the broom.

"There yah go!" George exclaimed as Edward slowly but surely made his way across the field. By the end of the practice, Edward had a shaky grasp on the aspects of flying and crash landing. He was soon able to make his way around the school grounds without any help from the Gryffindor team or Madam Hooch. However when he landed he still was grateful just to have something to stand on once again. Edward dropped his broom immediately and ran over to grab his jacket, the entirety of the Gryffindor quidditch team were congratulating him and slapping him on the back.

"Nice job Professor!" Harry said.

"Great job but just don't come applying for a position on our team though," Wood said.

"Who's up for round two?" George said wrapping his arm around Edward's shaking shoulder. The entire team laughed as Edward's face blanched out in fear. Madam Hooch came over and waved the team off of him.

"Go on the lot of you, take showers you need them. Edward congratulations you passed your flying exam, not with flying colours might I add, but you passed it all the same," she said sternly. Edward looked up at her like she was heaven, but she just gave him a grunt. "I have never seen someone so set off by heights before. Now go get a shower," she ordered.

…..

After taking a shower in his chambers Edward made his way back down to the Great Hall for lunch. Some of the Gryffindor students caught up to him and dragged him over to their table for a congratulatory meal. After a few toasts and cheers, members of the team had to make their way to their classes. Ron and Hermione joined the table as soon as the crowd died down. Hermione was a little upset that the Alchemy lesson was canceled for that day, but loved to listen to Harry's recap of Edward's flight.

Hey Professor," Ron asked as the bustle of his lesson was put to a rest. "What is with the get up? Are you going to a party or something?" Edward remembering that he was wearing his military uniform he hid his head in his arms.

"It is my uniform," Edward mumbled. "Mustang ordered me to wear it for when he comes for my assessment." The three students glanced at each other questionably.

"Wait, is that guy coming today?" Harry asked. Edward gave a pitiful nod.

"I could just hear it now," Edward began. He looked at up at his students and gave his best impression of Roy Mustang. "Why hello there Fullmetal, I can see that you have been growing as fast as the country's bank account. Ha, Ha, Ha. Wait! Where did he go now? I guess you actually managed to shrink a few inches rather than the other way around!" Edward let out a huge sigh. "That is how it always goes."

"Fullmetal?" Hermione mouthed to Harry, but he just shrugged. Edward slumped back down in his seat miserable again. Harry looked at Ron for a moment and saw that he was staring in shock at something behind them. Harry turned to see a tall black haired man standing behind them. There was nothing special about him aside from the fact that he was wearing the same uniform as Edward was but with just a few more medals. He cleared his throat and Edward looked up startled. Immediately recognizing who it was Edward went into a salute which surprised the trio behind him.

"Now Fullmetal, I thought that you would have loved to have me come to visit. That uniform suits you very nice, but you should have gotten it in kid sizes. It looks a little too big for you," Roy said with an evil smirk.

"WHO YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE NEVER HAS TO GET NEW CLOTHES? I AM STILL GROWING YOU HALF ASSED GIANT!" Edward bursted out. Ron, Hermione, and Harry covered their ears when Edward burst out, but they couldn't understand him at all. It seemed that the men were talking in their native language. Roy grinned at his reaction and gave a small laugh.

"That's no way to talk to your commanding officer is it?"

"You weren't supposed to be here until dinner," Edward mumbled and sat back down in his seat. Roy slapped Edward upside the head at his pitiful excuse. While the young Elric cursed a bit to the world, Roy eyed the three confused students. He gave them a small apologetic smile, which sort of scared the three instead of relax them because of his rapid change in demeanor. He pushed that factor aside though.

"Fullmetal, I almost forgot to tell you," he continued and started to walk up to the High Table without him. "I brought some help with me." Edward was wondering what he meant by this when the doors to the Great Hall burst open again and Major Armstrong came racing towards him a baffled Poppy tagging behind.

"Young Edward Elric, how we missed you so much!" the towering wall of rock shouted as he tackled Fullmetal off of his chair and into a bone crushing hug. The three students stared awkwardly at the scene still not having a clue what was going on. Madam Promfery was at Edward's aid trying to pry the man off of him in an attempt to keep anyone from dying that day. When Armstrong dropped Edward like a sack of potatoes, he followed Mustang towards the front of the room. Edward laid near the ground and propped himself up on his chair gasping for breath. His face was pale and he was looking at the three as if he had seen a ghost.

"Professor, who were those people?" Harry asked stupidly.

"They were my fellow workers," Edward wheezed. Madam Promfery started to look him over for possible crushed or mutilated bones. "The first one, was Colonel Roy Mustang the Flame Alchemist," Edward paused for a moment and pinched the bridge of his nose, "The second one, was Major Louis Armstrong the Strong Arm Alchemist. They are here for my assessment." Just then they heard a cry come from the High Table and Mustang was waving for Edward to come over.

"And my funeral," Edward added before he and Poppy headed for the teacher's area.

…..

The two Amestrian soldiers were introduced to the faculty of Hogwarts that afternoon. They all seemed to adore them. Severus and Remus both liked Mustang's over confidence and taunting personality, while Hagrid and Flitwick took to Armstrong like they knew him for a very long time. Edward was completely miserable, even more so when Dumbledore gave the both of them translation spells and maps of the castle. After many short jokes, sparkles, and emotion scenes played out by Armstrong, Edward grumpily led the two soldiers into his classroom. It was his fifth year class.

"Class, we have some guests here," Edward said as they marched in the room. The students were a little surprised to see the two extra people in matching uniforms march in behind Edward. "Please ignore them and everything will be fine," Edward said, but let out a yelp as the Colonel snapped his fingers. The class awed at the arching flames that his Edward smack in the butt.

"Now Edward, is that anyway to introduce us?" Mustang smirked.

"It is the perfect way to introduce you," Edward mumbled and started to pull out a piece of chalk. He drew a few symbols on the board and turned it to the class. It was a pitiful attempt to start a lesson that was inevitably going to go to ruins.

"Whoa! How did you do that?" one of the Slytherins asked Mustang.

"I am Colonel Mustang the Flame Alchemist. As you could have guessed, fire is one of my specialties," Mustang said matter-o-factly.

"He just has special gloves that make a spark when you rub them. Don't let him fool you with his god complex," Edward moaned. That comment just gave him another snap to the back. The class laughed at him as he ducked out of the way. Edward rolled up his left sleeve to prepare his own blow at the Colonel, but Armstrong stepped in front of him.

"Ho! Slow down there my friend; there shall be enough fighting on the battlefield during your assessment! I will make sure of that!" Armstrong said giving a little flex. Edward let out a tired sigh.

"Very well," he grumbled and made his way back to the front of the class. "With them here, I think that this will be the perfect opportunity to learn about specialization. There are many alchemic fields that one can learn about, and most scientists specialize in one or two of these fields." Edward made a big motion towards Armstrong. "Louis Armstrong here specializes in stone and sculptures, while this guy," Edward said carelessly jabbing his thumb at Mustang, "Loves to play with fire and very little else." Mustang grimaced at the halfhearted display but said very little about it. "Now, I will ask that these two explain a little bit more about their subject of choice," Edward said as he slunk back into his desk chair. Mustang glared daggers at him and turned to the anxious class.

"Flame Alchemy is one of the more useful and powerful forms of alchemy out there. I chose it as a form of protection and offense when I joined the military, since my country was in war at the time."

"Or because you were a pyromaniac," Edward mumbled. Mustang grinned and gave him another taste of his flames. Edward fell out of his chair onto his butt. As Edward grumbled about the floor, one of the students perked up.

"Wait, are you all in the military? I thought that those were costumes," the girls said. This received glares from all three State Alchemists.

"Yes these are costumes. You should see what we wear on normal occasions," Edward said sarcastically. This was lost to the student however and they sat down with a confused look on their faces.

"What Fullmetal here wants to say is yes. We are indeed in a special branch of the military called State Alchemist branch. We use the science of Alchemy to aid and protect the people of our country. Right now, however, we are here to perform Fullmetal's yearly assessment," Mustang said as if reading off the back of a 'how to military' pamphlet.

"Fullmetal? What a nickname!" George called out.

"What ever happened to halfmetal?" Fred asked just to taunt the teacher.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A HALF PINT MIDGET! I STILL HAVE SOME GROWTH SPURTS COMING YOU VILLAGE OF GIANTS!" Edward yelled. Fred and Mustang both grinned the same. Edward could see each of them do a mental high five. He reached down an checked his watch. This was going to be a longer lesson than he had anticipated. Clumsily he collapsed back down in his chair and preoccupied himself with staring out the window towards the West tower. Mustang took hold of the class. This was turning out to be more like cultures than alchemy.

"Every state alchemist has a title that they are given by the Fuhrer himself that matches their area of expertise. Major Louis Armstrong here is known as the Strong Arm alchemist-"

"Because the techniques I use were passed through my families for many generations!" Armstrong said taking off his shirt for extra effect. One of his students nearly fainted in the front row. One of the other Sytherins ended up trying to poke the boy awake with their quill. Mustang stood awkwardly off to the side as the man kept flexing.

"Anyways…. Edward here is known as Fullmetal because of his expertise in shaping the ores in the ground into weapons. I, as you all know use fire and am known as the-"

"Fire Ballz alchemist," Edward interrupted. The entire class went into an explosion of laughter. It didn't last long however, when Mustang shot it dead with a glare that can burn fireproof gloves.

"The Flame Alchemist," he corrected them. "I am known as the Flame Alchemist."

…..

When the news got around that Edward was with the military, his classes were constantly interrupted with questions and explanations. The only thing that was good that came from him being in the military was the large amount of respect the students seemed to be giving him now. Even the three Ravenclaw boys that locked his legs together were treating him like the wisest man alive. However, the constant burden of having your superior officer hang over your neck at all times was a definite downer. Ron, Hermione, and Harry seemed to be avoiding him now though, ever since they found out he was a Major. He guest it had to do with his uniform. It was sort of disseating to have to talk to a man in uniform all the time. Luckily it was only going to last three days.

Edward, Roy, and Louis marched into the great hall together and took their seats at the high table. Minivera nearly fainted when she saw that Armstrong was completely shirtless. Poppy turned a little pink as the large body builder started to flex his muscles at her and compliment her wonderful work as a Nurse. Edward slumped down in his normal seat next to Severus and Remus.

"It seems that our lively Elric has hit his match," Remus said laughing at the ruckus the new alchemists were making. Edward grumbled a remark and started to poke at his food.

"If I were you, I would get Armstrong to calm down a bit before he gives Poppy a heart attack," Severus said. Edward glanced over to where the man was still doing his infamous dramatic spiels.

"Don't you notice?" Edward asked with a weak chuckle. "That is his neutral phase. I would hate you to see him in his violent emotional stage. That gets messy." The three of them laughed a bit but Lupin calmed down.

"I heard about how your flight went. If we would have known that you were afraid of heights-"

"I am not afraid of heights!" Edward retorted. "There is a difference between being afraid of heights and then just extremely uncomfortable in them. I am only afraid of one thing, and if you would see it, you would know why," Edward said poking his food with his fork.

"Sure could have fooled me," Severus said monotonously.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Edward snapped back at him.

"It means that you probably looked utterly ridiculous on a broom," Mustang butted in.

"Hey, stay out of this! No one asked for your comment!" Mustang gave a small shrug and grabbed a bowl of noodles.

"Poppy told me to tell you to go to the Hospital wing tonight for an extra checkup. Something about the new moon being a bit tricky this time of year," Mustang said to Professor Lupin. He gave a recognizing nod at his address, but Severus looked a bit more disgruntled. "And Fullmetal, Dumbledore said I would be sharing your chambers for the evening. The only have an extra room for Armstrong since they weren't expecting the both of us to come."

"Of course you are. Why don't you read a bedtime story while you're at it?" Edward spat at him.

"Well I would, but I think that you might fall asleep halfway through it. I don't have any short stories for you this time," Mustang retorted casually. Edward steamed but held it in as he stormed out of the Hall. He wasn't going to please that man with his temper any longer. But Mustang still chuckled a bit as the door closed behind him.

"You two seem to get along very well," Severus sarcastically said.

"Well, if we didn't get along you would notice," Mustang retorted and picked up some more noodles with his chopsticks. Mustang was actually surprised that they had chopsticks here. They seemed to be rare in London.

"It does seem that you do have some heart for that boy. I mean I don't spend all day teasing my enemies," Remus added.

"It is a simple work relationship. He is my subordinate, therefore under my care, but whatever floats your boat," Mustang mumbled and it was left at that.

…..

The weird bubbling potion was shoved down Edward's throat yet another night as the nurse checked up on his automail and other inquiries. Mustang waited patiently in the corner of the hospital room for Edward to finish up. He got an unwanted checkup as well and Madam Promfery gave him some burn ointment for a couple of scorch marks that she found on his sides. After that, Mustang and Edward were booted out of the ward and sent to their room. When Edward got to his room, he saw that the house elves had the decency to shove an extra bed in the corner so they weren't forced to sleep together. Edward couldn't believe that he was being forced to do this. After Edward took a shower and put on his night clothes, he walked out of the bathroom to notice that Roy was already dressed in his tank and shorts ready for bed. A bright blue amulet was hung around his neck, just like Edward's red one.

"What, no shower? I didn't know that you were this hydrophobic," Edward grumbled as he flopped down on top of his bed. Roy gave a sarcastic laugh.

"I took one as soon as I got here. Thanks for the letter by the way, I am glad you are teaching your students well," Roy retorted. He laid down on his own cot and picked up a book he brought along.

"Those two fire heads are some of the brightest students in my class. They are geniuses in physics all due to the fact that they love to make pranks on people," Edward said. He turned the oil lamp down keeping it only lit enough for Mustang to read his book.

"Edward-"

"What? No Fullmetal?" Edward scoffed at his as he took in a big pitiful yawn.

"No just Edward," Mustang said quietly. Edward propped himself up on his elbow and stared at the Colonel's shadowy figure. He couldn't see his face quite well in the lighting. With a sigh, Mustang continued. "You do realize what tomorrow is, correct?" Edward gave a small mumble and flopped back down on his bed to stare at the ceiling.

"Of course I do."

"I will be willing to take over your class if you need me to," Roy said. "What are you planning to do?"

"I will take the day like any other. No use grieving is there? I have three hundred sixty four other days of the year to do that if I wanted to. Looking back is pointless," Edward said quietly and pulled the curtains of his poster bed closed to block out the light. Roy gave a sigh.

"Sometimes looking back is the only way to see how far you have come," he quietly added. Roy leaned over and turned off the light.


	6. King of Fear

**Warning: this is a more serious chapter. sorry not a lot of fun until the very end, but I still hope you enjoy it. Thankyou all for the reviews and messages. **

CHAPTER 6

The King of Fear

Edward awoke the next morning in a completely depressed state. He felt dead to the world, and reflecting back, this would have been the exact day that he would have been if pure coincidence wasn't one his side. Mustang was still sleeping in the corner of the room, so Edward chose this time to get changed and head down for an early breakfast. The armoured Al wasn't in his chamber portrait and the Winry was looking a bit depressed herself as she nervously played with her wrench. Even the picture seemed to know what day it was. Edward checked his pocket watch for the time as he sulked down the Grand Staircase. It was five o' clock in the morning, the third of October, three ten as he liked to remember it. Edward stumbled into the Great Hall and deposited his sorry butt into his seat. Severus, who was always a morning person, was already down there eating some oatmeal. He studied the boy for a minute.

"You do know that food is better eaten and not played with," he mumbled. Edward gave a grunt but did nothing more to keep up the conversation. This was surely strange for the loud mouth obnoxious teenager with the power of authority to do. Severus gave a tiny inaudible sigh and stirred some apples into his bowl.

"What is wrong? I know depression when I see it and that is hardly the state to be teaching a class in." Edward didn't answer, even if he wanted to he couldn't because just then a supper happy Rubius came bounding up the great hall.

"We've done it!" he screamed excitedly. "We have finally got the spell for the magical creatures! Now you will be able to see the ghosts and the dementors and everything!"

"Hagrid, I don't think that this is the time for that," Severus said coldly. Rubius glanced down at the boy who was pitifully slumped over the table.

"Oh dear," he said and sat down next to the boy. "Well, maybe seeing a ghost might perk your spirits. I know that being around animals always makes me happy."

"Yes, seeing a ghost is definitely won't scare a person to death," Snape's sarcasm grew. Hagrid rolled his eyes at the man. For once during his time in the Great Hall, Edward looked up.

"No," Edward said, "It is fine. I just need to get my mind off of something. That might help." Hagrid let out a bellowing laugh of excitement.

"Very well then!" Hagrid said. He took out hit faded and battered pink umbrella and pointed it at Edward's amulet. Snape was a little suspicious about this though.

"Hagrid, let someone else do it. You aren't supposed to be using magic," Severus said to him eying the pink parasol.

"Don't worry. Dumbledore gave me a bit of permission with me being the creature's teacher an all," Rubius announced and then he sent a few brown sparks at Edward's amulet. The instant he did so, several ghosts appeared around the hall, and Peeves the poltergeist could be seen thowing a few stink pellets from the windowsill. Edward looked around a bit at the silky white beings with a little bit of peaked interest. Unfortunately, his distraction was broken when he saw the Colonel making his way down the tables. He let out a tired sigh and left the Great Hall with a bowl of oatmeal in tow. Mustang didn't stop him, but instead made his way to the table where he was once sitting.

"Colonel, I do fear for your subordinate. It seems that he has been feeling a little off today," Severus said to him.

"Yah, er wasn't even excited when I gave him a new spell," Hagrid said a little disappointed. "Which by the way," hagrid said as he did the same to Roy's medallion. Roy just gave a small half-awake nod and took a muffin from the table. This dampened Hagrid spirits even further. He was able to perform magic for just a second and no one was excited.

"This is sort of a bad day for him, his least favorite day of the year," Roy mumbled. The two teachers looked around at each other.

"Why does he hate today? It isn't like it is Christmas or anything," Severus inquired.

"What's Christmas?" Mustang said half-heartedly, but at the strange looks the teachers gave him he pushed it aside. "He got into some trouble when he was eleven and this was the day it happened. He doesn't like to talk about it so I wouldn't push him. Just let this day go by as normally as possible and everything will be fine," Roy reassured him.

"Oh so today is when it happened," Remus said arriving behind him. Mustang looked up to see the man as pale as ever. Severus pushed a bubbling glass towards the sick man and he glanced down at his distastefully.

"You know what happened?" Roy asked curiously. It wasn't like Fullmetal to go blabbing about it out in the open. The man took a sip of the strange mixture and shivered.

"To an extent, yes. He told me when we were in the hospital ward together. I am not going to say any more about it because he told me to keep it quiet," Remus said and downed the glass of grey bubbling solution. Severus eyed Remus a little bit, but didn't say anything.

"Why didn't he tell me?" Hagrid asked him innocently.

"Well, it might be because you have one of the biggest mouths in the school," Severus sneered. Rubius turned a little red with embarrassment.

"He usually doesn't tell anyone about it, and I and my subordinates sworn to secrecy. If word ever gets out about it, he could get kicked from the military right then and there, probably even arrested," Mustang said giving a threatening glare at Remus. Severus shifted in his chair a bit while Hagrid decided to darn a look of complet and utter shock. They had no clue what this was about.

"Well, I will tend to be more careful about the subject. I didn't think that it was such a big deal in your country. It is quite normal here in both the wizarding world and muggle world," Remus said a little taken aback by Roy's seriousness.

"Wait, what?" Roy asked the man. He had no clue what he was talking about. Quite common? Remus looked at him a little surprised.

"Am I not on the right subject?"

"I don't know," Roy said. "Tell me what he said to you. If it is what I think it is we have not to worry." The group stared anxiously at the man leaning in to hear what he had to say.

"Rubius, cover your ears. Even if it isn't such a serious matter as we thought, he still didn't want me to tell anyone. Telling you is telling the whole school." Hagrid was a little upset, but decided it best for the young lad if he would just be absent, and he got up and left the Hall. Lupin turned to Mustang after the doors to the great hall closed. They didn't have to worry about anyone listening in because they were the only teachers awake that early and the students still lingered.

"Edward told me about his prosthetics, but how he got them he didn't answer" Lupin whispered striking a truly shocked look from both Severus and Roy. Mustang slumped back in his chair a little relieved and pissed.

"Fullmetal nearly gave me a heart attack," Roy mumbled to himself. "You are off the hook. His limbs are known in our ranks and by the Fuhrer himself. However, I don't want you to push him on how he got them."

"Why is that?" Severus questioned.

"Because what I was talking about earlier, was the how," Roy said.

…

Edward didn't dare walk through the armoury that day. Instead, he took the long way to his classroom and walked through the trophy room for a little happier setting. It didn't do much for him thou and decided to just sit in his office and wait for his class to arrive. Mustang and Armstrong came in to the classroom to find the pictures stripped off of the walls and leaning backwards against the back wall. The change in décor made the room look like it had been abandoned for years.

"Fullmetal, what happened to the pictures?" the Colonel asked. Edward gave a shrug and just continued to stare out into space. Roy grumbled to himself and walked over to the paintings and picked one up. It was the picture that Winry gave him to be painted. It showed a grassy field from Resembool with a house far up on the distant hilltop. Roy thought it would have just been a random house that they had, but in the moving picture the house was caught in a pyre of flames. It wasn't just any normal house. Roy sighed and set the picture back down where Edward had hidden it. This was going to be a long day.

The classes that Edward had to teach were completely depressing. The first and fourth years seemed to be respecting Edward's slump and didn't ask too many questions as to why the classroom was now decorated with bare walls. If they did ask, Edward said that he was just redecorating. When teaching he didn't seem too out of it, just the fun lively classes that they normally had were changed to copying notes from the board. It wasn't a complete loss however, and Mustang thought that Edward might be able to make it through the day.

At lunch, Edward was still the same inaudible lump as ever and the other teachers were still worried for him even though Roy told them to back off. Poppy and Severus offered a Pickerup potion, but Edward refused. The colonel even warned Louis Armstrong to lay off of the dramatics until tomorrow. It was nice motion, but the Major started to bug the other teachers in order to release some of the energy he had built up. As Mustang ate his sandwiches and soup, he took a short glance at a group of Slytherins at one of the lunch tables. A short blonde boy was giving him and Fullmetal a couple of mischievous grins and his friends around him did the same. Roy knew that they were up to something but pushed it aside. The kids probably were just trying to spread stupid rumors about them. That is what kids normally do. After they ate, Flame, Strong Arm, and Fullmetal stood up to leave but were caught up by Lupin who joined them for their walk. He had a class as well that day and was just down the corridor from Edward. As they were just about to part ways, he turned to them.

"If any of you need anything, I will be in classroom 3C just down the way and across from the Rear Hall. I hope that you are feeling better young man," he said towards Fullmetal and then left on his way. The Amestrians made their way into the third year classroom where the students were already sitting down and ready to start class. Mustang noted that the blonde boy from lunch was in the class as well as one of his goons. They looked as smug as ever.

"Alright," Edward said making his pitiful presence known to the class. "oopen your books to page one hundred seventy eight. We will begin by studying the chemical bonds in molecules and atoms." Neville Longbottom looked really excited about this and was the first to flip open his battered book. Edward walked to the chalkboard and started to write notes about the difference of single bonds and triple bonds. After a while and a few boards of notes, a loud clatter came from their right. As if on instinct the entire classroom turned their heads towards the wall. Edward looked up from his notes and stared at his filing cabinet. Another loud thud came out and the cabinet shifted a few inches forward. The class started to whisper back and forth as the cabinet made another shudder. Edward curiously but cautiously started to move forward towards the cabinet. Just as he was about three meters from it, the cabinet gave one final large jump and fell open. A swirling wind came out of the drawer and landed on the ground in front of Edward. A few kids in the class let out stifled screams, as the tornado took its shape. It shaped into a strange circle with a pile of lumpy flesh in the middle. Edward's breath caught in his throat as a the lump started to shift into the form of the, the, _thing;_ that was their mother. All he wanted to do was run out of there and never return, but his legs seemed to be glued to the floor. His mind tormented itself as his classroom seemed to disappear and the walls of his old home formed around him. As the form molded into the full-fledged corpse, a few of his students ran out of the classroom screaming at the top of their lungs. Black spindly arm shot out of the circle and grabbed Edward's leg and arm. It started to pull at him. Edward struggled in an attempt to free himself but it was no use. Armstrong immediately grabbed one of the remaining students.

"Take me to Lupin," he commanded Hermione. She shook her head and bolted down the hall for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with the soldier at her heels. Mustang was stunned at the thing in front of him. He didn't know what to do. This was a first time experience with him. But when he saw the tortured and pleading look on his subordinate's face, he did all that he could think of. He ran forward. Roy snapped his fingers and took a shot at the thing. It reeled back and let go of Edward leaving him petrified on the floor. Some of the students screamed a bit. Mustang stationed himself in front of Fullmetal blocking his view of the creature. Instead of coming back at him however, the thing started to morph. Orange light illuminated from it as a thunderous scream came out of the creature. Roy looked a little taken aback as he saw the burning ishvalan staggering towards him. When it took a few steps towards them, Roy rapidly snapped his fingers at it sending the creature back against the wall. Some of the students raced to stand behind him.

Professor Lupin came racing through the door not much later with Strong Arm tailing behind him. The sickly man whipped out his wand and approached the creature. It turned towards him and the flames of the ishvalan burnt out an changed into a pale blue glow.

"Ridikulos!" Remus shouted and the moon was sent whirling back into the damaged filing cabinet. Armstrong ran up and pounded it with his fist sealing all compartments of the office organizer. Remus turned to the terrified class. "All of you, spread out," he ordered as he approached the limp Alchemist. Edward was frozen, his head staring at the ceiling with blank cold eyes. His body was breaking down in a cold sweat and shudders were shaking his jointed. Mustang bent down to see what had become of his subordinate. "He has had a traumatic break down and gone into shock. We need to get him to Poppy immediately," Remus ordered. Louis Armstrong lifted the boy from the ground and hastily followed the man out of the room. Mustang turned to the remaining students of his class.

"You all may leave," he barked at them, "Except you." He pointed to the blonde Slytherin boy who was shaking a bit in the back row. Mustang marched over and grabbed the kid by the shirt collar and dragged him away to the hospital wing. As they walked down the corridors, Roy looked down at the stuttering child.

"Tell me what that was," Roy commanded. The boy shrugged his shoulders but his eyes were still wide with shock. "I know you did it now tell me what that thing was in there."

"It was a –a Boggart!" the boy's voice quivered. "I-It takes the form of what y-you fear m-most." Roy wished he could punch the boy, but refrained.

"Why did you think that it was a good idea to stick one of those things in the filing cabinet?"

"I-I wanted to kn-know what he w-was afraid of! I didn't mean a-anything by it. Honesly," the boy said. When he saw the look on Mustang's face he flinched a bit.

"That was one of the most idiotic and stupid things that you did back there. People are afraid of things for a reason. Fullmetal might seem like a brave person, but that is just because he has something like that to be afraid of. Whatever you saw in there was only a mere copy of what your teacher has experienced. By making him repeat that… especially on today," Roy gritted out. The boy shut up for the rest of the walk to the Ward. Edward was laying on one of the beds and Poppy was fussing about getting some syringes ready with serums. Severus was helping her handing her the dreamless draught for her to use. Several other teachers were in the room worriedly waiting for the headmaster to arrive. Mustang dumped the boy in a chair and walked over to Edward's bed. It looked like he fell asleep on the way up to the hospital ward because he was curled up in the center of in and his eyes were clenched shut. His body was still giving off terrible shudders and he looked freezing. The room itself wasn't that bad but the nurse had to take off his jackets in order to administer some medicine and she ordered his shoes to go too because they were caked with mud. The teachers have all grasped the concept of Edward's limbs though some of them were still a little shocked. Edward let out another nerve racking shudder. He looked so cold that Mustang felt like he himself was too just looking at him, and he was the Flame Alchemist. Mustang looked around the room for something to heat the room. There was a fireplace near the center. That was one thing that he could handle.

While the Colonel busied himself with making a fire for the ward, Dumbledore came walking briskly into the ward to take a look at the situation. Professor McGonagall followed him on his heels.

"Remus, what happened?" the old man's voice asked quietly. His eyes were focused on the hospital bed.

"A Boggart sir," Lupin said. "The Boggart was found in Elric's filing cabinet and it attacked him during his class."

"It attacked him?" Minivera questioned. "Boggarts don't attack people, they try to frighten them away."

"Professor, I assure you that this one attacked him," Mustang said standing up from his roaring fire. "It grabbed a hold of him and started attacking me when I tried to get it off." Dumbledore looked at him a little disseated from what he said.

"It is my entire fault!" Hagrid started to cry sending tears down his dirty cherry red cheeks. "If I wouldn't have given ye the creature spell today, ya wouldn't have been able to see it and Edward wouldn't be like this!" He blew his nose into his tablecloth sized handkerchief. Flitwick, the shortest teacher in the school, gave the giant a little comforting pat on the back. Mustang rolled his eyes at the man and walked over to where the blubbering Malfoy sat. He hooked the kid by the robes and dragged him to the middle of the room.

"Quit your crying, yah didn't know. This is the person to blame. This boy planted the creature in Edward's cabinet," Mustang said. The boy shrank under all the glares he was receiving from the teachers. Dumbledore walked over to Mustang and eyed him for a while.

"You said that it attacked you as well, might I ask why you are not a little dissettled by the experience?" he asked with a suspicious glint in his eye.

"Sir, when I stepped in front of that thing I only saw what I see every night when I go to bed. I have already taken blame for my actions and therefore my fear is dead. Edward's fear is still living. He is still trying to fix it," Mustang said stiffly. He glared back at the accusing headmaster who backed away after a little bit. Just then Edward let out a yell. A cold sweat started to break out over his and he clutched his right arm defensively.

"Severus, quick, the draught!" Poppy ordered as she ran back over to the hospital bed. Severus filled a syringe with the dreamless draught and handed it over to the nurse. As Edward started to writhe in the bed, Mustang ran over and pinned down his shoulders. He ended up getting kicked in the stomach, but it created just enough time for Poppy to give him the potion. The instant the syringe was drained the panicking teen calmed down and back into a normal sleep.

"How can a boy be afraid of something so terrible?" Minivera asked Dumbledore quietly. She looked at the unconscious boy worriedly for a second. "I fear for his safety. What if this happens again? What will we do?"

"It won't happen again," Mustang reassured her eyeing Draco a bit. "This was a special day on his calendar which in his own mind made it twenty times worse than it had to be on any normal day. If this were to happen again, I am sure he can handle it with a little help."

"What, might I ask, happened on this night that Edward would dread it to come again?" Dumbledore asked. Mustang looked at the man and then back at Edward.

"I think that that would best be left unmentioned. If he wants you to know, he would tell you," Mustang said. The faculty didn't seemed pleased with this answer but let it slide. Draco, who was standing aloof in the middle of the room, built up enough courage to actually say something.

"S-sir?" he asked nervously. "How did he get those limbs?" Mustang really wanted to fry him, but he resisted, just barely.

"Classified. Now I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about his automail until he is ready. He already has a lot on his plate and explaining that he doesn't have an arm or a leg shouldn't be one of them. Unfortunately, I doubt that this idiot can keep that a secret," Mustang gritted as he gave Draco a little shove in the shoulder.

"Very well," Dumbledore said. "We will make sure that the faculty doesn't spread the matter." He gave Hagrid a stern look. "Severus, make some extra draught for the young man. There is nothing more that we can do for the matter tonight." As the faculty started to leave, Minivera snagged the escaping Malfoy and dragged him back to Albus.

"There needs to be some sort of discipline here," she ordered. "I will not have children thinking that it is alright to go scaring their teachers!" Dumbledore looked over the young boy for a second and then Edward.

"The thing that Edward is afraid of seemed to be more than enough of a punishment since it scared the entire class of students," Dumbledore said. Draco let out a breath of relief while McGonagall simmered. "But," he continued, "I will be needing a word with young Draco Malfoy here myself." The headmaster led the boy out into an unused corridor and left the lot to their own devices. When he came back, Draco was immediately sent off to his Common room.

"Don't worry Roy, Edward's secret is safe," he said happily. Mustang eyed him suspiciously, but said nothing of it. "With that done, I think I will be off to bed. I think we should all get going before Poppy decides to send us out herself."

"Mustang, you are welcome to stay if you want, but I am afraid Armstrong can't. His show of effection might kill the boy before he wakes up," Poppy said glaring at the tear jerked man before him. Mustang glanced at his subordinate and sighed and the weeping mess of muscle and sparkles.

"Very well," he sighed. It was probably for the best. Armstrong would break down and kill Edward with his emotional hugs the instant he woke up. Mustang wouldn't forget the time that Louis made Edward rip his stitches in the infirmary trying to keep the man away. As Louis reluctantly made his exit, Mustang sat down in the chair beside the bed. The dim light of the moon fell of the boy's automail. Mustang secretly wished that the kid never had to join the military.

…

Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked through the grand stair case towards their dorms after the frightening alchemy class. Ron was still bearing his frightened face as if he couldn't get rid of it. They knew it was a boggart now that they remembered it, but the form it took was just too overwhelming to imagine as a simple creature of fear.

"What was that thing?" Ron panicked as they passed the fourth floor.

"It looked like some sort of human," Harry said not wanting to remember the creature's face. Though it didn't look normal, it seemed like the human's appendages and organs were flipped inside out.

"that thing was not human!" Ron screamed at him. "No human can scare me that shitless!"

"Didn't any of you notice what that circle was?" Hermione asked them smartly.

"I was too busy looking at the tentacles!" Ron retorted. She rolled her eyes at him and turned to Harry.

"That was a transmutation circle of some sort. Whatever Edward saw the night that he witnessed that thing, it had to have come from an alchemic transmutation," Hermione said.

"Who says that he had to have seen it? That guy could have made the thing up! I mean Seamus never saw a Banshee before and yet the boggart turned into that for him. Edward could have imagined it," Harry said matter of factly.

"But he didn't. No one can be that scared of something they made up. He was completely traumatized!" She booted back at him. "Whatever it was, it has to have been real." Just as the three of them hit the landing of the fifth floor they heard a strange sound coming from one of the picture frames. The three of them looked around and saw a suit of armour sitting out near a river. It sounded as though he were crying.

"Al are you alright?" Harry asked the painting. His friends looked at him like he was crazy. Al looked up from where he was siting. He sniffled a bit before he answered.

"Yeah," the childish voice pathetically said back to them. The armour hunched over and squeezed his knees to his chest.

"Were you crying?" Ron asked. This got a well deserved jab in the ribcage from Hermione. She glared daggers at him. The armour didn't seem effected by this though and turned its head away from them.

"No." Al said. "I can't cry."

"Of course you can cry," Hermione said reassuringly trying to make up for the stupid question Ron asked.

"No I can't, it is physically impossible. I can't cry," Al said as if he were on the verge of tears, but of course none could come to him. The three students looked at each other then back at the painting.

"Why aren't you in your photo then? Your brother might worry about you," Harry said to him but the armour just shook its head.

"I am mourning I guess. My brother knows where I am. He always does," Al replied.

"Mourning about what?" Ron asked but he got another jab in the ribs.

"This was the day that we disobeyed our teacher. All is one and one is all. Our teacher gound that into us, but we were too stupid and ignored it. Now look, I am armour!" Al said and ran off of the picture in tears. Harry could hear the quiet please of a cat with every step he ran. Both a stunned Harry and Hermione slapped Ron upside the head.

"You don't just ask people that Ronald!" Hermione scolded him as they started to walk up the stairs again.

"Don't call me Ronald! You sound like me mum!" he complained. Harry rolled his eyes at their bickering. "Anyway, what was all that bologna about anyway?" Ron asked as they reached the landing of the seventh floor.

"Yeah Harry, how do you know who that was?" Hermione asked.

"And who is his brother? Please don't tell me you have been spending more time with Sir Calogan!" Ron said. They entered the Gryfindor towers and plopped down in the fluffy chairs.

"When I asked Professor Elric to sign my papers he started talking to one of his portraits that he had. He called him Al and I am guessing that he was his brother or something," Harry answered them. They seemed contempt with the story. "All is one and one is all, I wonder what that was supposed to mean," Harry mumbled to himself.

"I don't know, but it sounds familiar. I wonder what he meant by disobeying their teacher though. I though Edward was self taught," Hermione said.

"You got to admit though, It does have a nice ring to it," Ron added.

…

"GET AWAY FROM ME! I WON'T TAKE IT! AHHH!" cried Edward as he raced away from the nurse with the syringe. Poppy was a little startled by the kid's hatred for needles and nearly dropped his dose. Mustang tackled the boy to the ground.

"You will take it! You need to do your assessment today!" Mustang grunted as Edward delivered a swift kick to the jaw. When Edward woke up early that morning, he was not happy to find himself in a hospital bed. It did seem that the boy was completely back to normal besides being a bit pissed off. It seemed that the dreamless draught really worked to get the boy's mind off of things. He of course was still a bit unsettled about everything, but nothing too major. The day had come and pass one more.

"There has to be an oral or something!" Edward shouted. He wriggled out of Mustang's hold and leaped over the bed. Mustang scampered up and bounded across the room.

"You are going to take it whether you like it or not! I am due in Central within the week and I need to catch this train!" the Colonel said. With one leap, the flame alchemist jumped and took down the rampaging teen. Poppy raced over and jabbed the boy in the flesh arm with the needle. After the dose was delivered and Edward gave one final kick to Mustang's face, the lot calmed down.

"Well," Roy grunted as he stood up and brushed off his mangled uniform. "Now that that is settled Fullmetal, we need to perform your assessment. How are you feeling?" Mustang asked. Edward grumbled at him not wanting to remember anything.

"Like I was just hit with a hammer," he said rubbing his arm where Poppy struck him with the concentrated Pickerup potion. Mustang grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him towards the door.

"Good enough for me," he mumbled. As the two of them left the hospital ward, the could here Madam Promfery shouting behind them about checkups and not murdering each other. As the two walked down out of the infirmary, several students waved at them nervously, happy that the two Amestrians were out of the nurse's care.

"Hey Colonel," Edward said as they made their way to the breakfast table. Edward was still unhappily dressed in his military uniform. "I just thought of something. Where are we going to have the assessment?"

"Don't worry Fullmetal. Flitwick and Armstrong are setting things up outside. Dumbledore wanted to put a ward around us to that nothing hurts the students," Mustang said. The two of them barely filled their plates.

"What could the two of you be doing that would hurt the student's?" Minivera asked them.

"We are performing Fullmetal's physical assessment today before Armstrong and I leave for Central," Roy replied. Minivera looked a little relieved to hear that the crazy wall of muscle was leaving them for good. "It is actually the reason that I have come down. We were supposed to do it yesterday, but with the date being what it was, we postponed it to this morning."

"That is just because you can't read a calendar," Edward mumbled.

"At least I am not too short to even read the year," Mustang retorted. Edward nonchalantly threw his arm out at the colonel and made contact with his face. Remus laughed at their bickering.

"How is a simple physical examination going to put danger to the school?" Severus asked tiredly. Edward glared at Roy who gratefully returned it.

"It is to find if Edward is fit to fight in the military," Mustang informed him. "Which means that we need to see how he will act in combat if need be." Minivera looked mortified.

"Combat! He's only a teenager!" Edward knew that she didn't like the fact that he was so young, but she looked absolutely heart stricken.

"Well yes. If it comes down to it he will be called upon. Though with what he has been through I am sure he would be able to handle it," Mustang said.

"Wait Colonel, was that a complement I heard?" Edward said pretending to clean some dirt out of his ear. Mustang pushed his face away and gave a little grumble.

"Roy, you are still young, did you ever get called into a war?" Minivera asked. Roy looked at her with a tiny faded memory in his eye. Edward knew not to ask Mustang about that. It was his own touchy topic, but he didn't expect that one of the teachers would ask him. The Colonel gave out a sigh.

"Yes I was called in near the height of the Civil war to help…. Finish the fight. I was only twenty five at the time but I knew enough alchemy to survive. If you have alchemy on your side, it makes things…easier," Mustang finished. It looked like Minivera was going to ask another question, but at that moment Armstrong came bounding into the Great Hall with Flitwick scurrying behind him.

"It is done! A masterpiece of my own design!" Armstrong announced proudly. Edward noticed that Flitwick looked rather irritated that Louis was taking all of the credit. It was after all, his spell that protected the school.

"Very well," Mustang said and got up from the table. "Let's get this thing over with."

…

Armstrong led the two alchemists and a curious crowd of teachers down to the middle of hogwart's grounds. Hargrid hut could be seen down the hill with its chimney puffing smoke. The arena was marked with white chalk and was the size of the Quidditch stadium. As they approached it, Flitwick hobbled over to the edge of the circle.

"Now, the spells placed around this will allow people to go in and out, but the material objects of the Earth to stay inside," Filius informed them. The soldiers thanked them and walked around to their respected sides of the field. Edward noticed that some students were walking down the way to go to their Care of Magical Creature's class. Great an audience. Mustang noticed them and gave his charitable wave. Armstrong stood outside of the circle with Madam Hooch who was holding a whistle in her mouth. Edward and Mustang braced themselves.

"On your mark! Get set!" When the whistle sounded the two soldiers were off. Edward started to run towards the Colonel. Mustang just stood there with a smirk on his face. Once when Fullmetal passed the middle of the arena, he snapped his right hand. A large explosion came out of his glove and hit the ground where Edward once was. A cloud of dust went up in the air and Minivera, who came down to watch, covered her eyes in fear that Edward was hit. Low and behold, Edward came bounding out of the smoke with a bit of rubble still clinging to him. He clapped his hands hit the ground. Pillars of spikes ran their way towards Mustang who rapidly snapped his fingers creating enough explosion to blow each one to bits. Pieces of rubble bounced off of the barrier and the crowd of gathering students started to cheer. Edward ran through the dust towards Mustang. He was only a couple of meters away from him when he clapped his hands. Though Roy couldn't see him, he heard the noise and snapped his fingers in Fullmetal's direction before he had time to transmute. The explosion was larger than Roy anticipated and he was blown back a couple of feet. His jacket bore singes and his face was smudged with dirt. Edward, who was the one hit by the explosion, was sent back reeling and crash landed a few yards back. His military uniform was scorched and the tip of his hair sizzled a bit.

"HEY WATCH IT!" Edward shouted at the Colonel. The dust clouds got so big that they filled the arena. Mustang use the transmutation circle on this glove to settle the air a bit. The floating dirt immediately fell to the ground and the arena was cleared, but Fullmetal was nowhere in sight.

Edward was crawling on his hands and knees through the dirt. Literally through it. Before Mustang could settle the dust, Edward transmuted a tunnel for him to crawl into. He as he crawled he heard a couple footsteps above him.

Mustang walked around the arena in search of Edward. The crowd outside was getting worried that the boy was yet to be found. As Mustang got closer to the spot where he blasted the kid's sorry ass, he caught eye of the loose dirt scattered about in a strange pattern. Mustang snapped his fingers just as the ground next to him morphed into a fist. A rapid barrage of rocks in all shapes and sizes shot out at Mustang as he ran across the field. He snapped his fingers as fast as he could to get rid of the flying rocks. When one especially big one came for him, the Colonel slashed both his hands across each other to send one huge Explosion its way.

Edward popped out of the ground for air when he heard the large boom of fireworks go off above him. He looked around and saw a large wave of fire coming straight for him. Edward ducked back in just as the flames licked the top of his hole above his head. The second they were done, Edward jumped out and ran for the Colonel who was only three meters away. Edward clapped his hands and transmuted it into a blade, but just as he was going to put the unsuspected Mustang in check, a giant rock wall protruded in front of him.

"What?" Edward screamed as he looked around for the source of the wall. A huge gauntlet fist hit the wall near his head.

"Come on Elric! Taste what the Strong Arm Alchemist has in store for you!" the shirtless wonder announced as he swung his fist at the small teenager. Edward held his fist up to block but the mere impact from the Strong Arm Alchemist sent him flying backwards five meters.

"Seriously Colonel?" Edward raged completely annoyed. He ran towards Armstrong and faked a kick as he base slid underneath the man's legs. When he was clear, Edward clapped his hands together and sent the ground to lock the man in place. When Louis's arms were pinned by a couple slabs of rock, Edward was going to send the Strong Arm Alchemist back a few generations with a round house kick. When he was about to do so, Flames came out of the Colonel's gloves and threw Edward off course to the ground. Louis broke free of his bonds and set himself in ready position to prepare for what Edward had next. When Edward got up, he clapped his hands to the ground but nothing happened. The Colonel and Armstrong looked around nervously at each other, but Edward just started to walk casually away from them.

"Fullmetal?" Mustang called to him, but Edward sat down on the ground opposite of the pitch and began to whistle with an evil smirk. At the same time, Roy stepped forward and snapped his fingers, while Armtstrong took out a block of granite and punch threw it at Edward. The ground below their feet immediately gave way and the both went falling into a five meter pit. Edward ducked and dodged as both of the soldiers attacks nearly hit their mark, but got away. He ran back over to where the colonel and Major sat at the bottom of his pits. When Edward got close however, Mustang sent up a few more sparks at him. Before approaching again, Edward transmuted a bucket out of the ground and clapped his hands to fill it from the droplets of dew on the grass around them.

"Hey Mustang!" Edward called out. A pissed Flame Alchemist looked up just as the water was dumped over his head. Louis Armstrong and Edward both started to laugh at the Colonel. "Ha! It looks like you're a wet match after all!" Edward exclaimed clutching his stomach. Mustang gave a grumble as he and the Major climbed out of the pit.

"Congratulations Fullmetal, you are reinstated," Roy growled as he walked over to the edge of the arena. Edward clapped his hands and turned his arm back to normal and then gloved them. Cheers came out of the crowd that surrounded the bubble. The three of them looked up to notice that it turned from only being a few teachers to almost the entire school. Dumbledore was even there clapping for their performance. "Well you made an impression," Mustang said as he exited the arena with Armstrong. Edward followed, well tried to. Edward rebounded off of the arena's enchantment. He looked up a little confuse and smacked into it again. Mustang turned around to notice his subordinate's trouble. Edward reached his left hand out to the barrier and surprisingly it slipped right through.

"FLITWICK!" Edward growled. The man forgot about his automail.


	7. Riddles and Cities

**Hey sorry for the wait. This chapter is sort of a filer (sorry for those of you who want to get on with the action) It is just to tie up a few ends from the previous chapters. It will get better in the next one because that is HALLOWEEN! let me say that halloween and finals seem to be where all the major plot points in harry potter happen. Ex: Troll from sorcerer's stone, and then well... you'll just have to figure out next chapter. thank ya'll for reviewing. **

CHAPTER 7

Riddles and Cities

The news of Edward's assessment got around the school fast. Many of the students were recapping the whole thing like it was a movie and some, like Colin Creevy, got a few photos that they wanted autographed. With the swarm coming from the event, Edward ended up being locked in his office for most of the weekend or in the safety of other teachers. One thing good came after the assessment though; Edward didn't have to wear his uniform anymore.

After the events of the week, Poppy made sure to keep Edward under constant surveillance with potions at the ready in case anything would happen to him. She did manage to give the unwilling Edward a couple more shots before the weekend much to his distaste. He used the Dreamless draught every night as a precaution. He didn't want any of the faculty panicking just because he had a nightmare.

The alchemy classes went smoother than they have ever been, though the students were still a little crazed by the Boggart event. His students, especially the first years, all seemed more excited to learn what the science had to offer since they got to see it in action. Draco seemed a little off in his classes, probably due to the recent events, and was actually taking the class seriously for once. Edward was actually slightly proud of him, not because he planted a Boggart in his filing cabinet but because it seemed that he finally accepted the meaning of his detention. The kid even started to show up for some extra help on molecular bonding.

They managed to start practicing drawing the transmutation circles now. Edward was having the students spend most of their time in an art class rather than a hardcore science profession. Several of the students asked him to check over their work. Edward found that Kate and Angelina, the two brilliant Gryffindor chasers in his fifth year class, were asking him over to their table almost every time they put their quills down.

Edward walked through the Great Hall during lunch one Saturday in late October. As he walked whispers and hushed voices started to talk in serious tones as the students were reading what looked like to be a newspaper. The atmosphere in the place seemed to be entirely dead and skeptical. Edward got up to the high table and looked around. It seemed that the teachers were also in a gloomy mood when he sat down at the table. Remus didn't even crack a joke when he sat down or anything.

"Okay, what is it with you guys?" Edward said buttering his biscuit. "Did you all get told you are on your death beds?" Remus didn't say anything but tossed a newspaper to Ed for him to read. He flipped it open and on the front cover SIRIUS SPOTTED was written in huge black letters, a picture of the man's face hung bellow. "Who's this?"

"You don't know who that is?" Rubius exclaimed as he bit into a rock cake. "That's Sirius Black right there. A cold blooded murder!"

"That is why the dementors are here. He is the only person to ever escape from Azkaban," Remus added. Edward silently shivered at the thought of those creatures. He remembered his train ride. Even though he didn't see it, he felt it, and that was all that he needed to know about those things.

"And he was spotted in a town not too far away," Severus spookily added. Edward looked at the man's face again. It looked more like a man with a dog complexion than a cold blooded murderer. Compared to the muscle and temper Scar had, this man seemed to be a humble and obedient puppy. Edward tossed the paper down on the table and took a bite of his biscuit.

"Doesn't seem that bad," Edward mumbled.

"That's it, this bloke is out o his mind," Hagrid exclaimed a bit baffled. "He killed hundred wizards and muggles in one night! He blew this one guy up so fast all that was left was-"

"Rubius," Remus said softly. "That is enough. No use getting worked up over something that we can't do anything about at this moment now can we?" the table fell silent as the teachers went to eating their meal. It was a long awkward pause which Edward didn't care for at all. It made him feel all weird inside. When the meal had come to an end Edward headed upstairs for the Library.

Edward didn't really have a lot of time on his hands the past month since he was busy tutoring wizards about muggle chemistry. It seemed like the last time he was in here was to pick up a book for Aurora for her Astrology class, which was a week ago to be exact. He was kind of in a bad twist with Pince because she knew that his organization skills were his own, meaning that no one knew where anything was but himself. When he did have time to go to the Library, she would usually kick him out within the hour because of the mess he was making. Edward resorted to taking out one book at a time since then. Today however, Edward was finally going to go study in the Library like he was planning to. Pince was out for the day which meant that there was no one there to nag about his organizational skills.

In the Library, Edward immediately ran to the Magical Sciences section. He picked up a light amount of books, approximately fifteen texts, and simply collapsed on the floor with them. No one was going to need any of the books there anyways since it was the weekend and of course students were going to wait for the last minute to do their reports that Snape so willingly assigned them. The Library was completely silent as Edward read his texts and took notes. He started to slowly spread out and 'organize' his books across the floor when he heard a few voices coming from the Literary Works aisle right next to him. The voices started to come in low, but then picked up as the owners searched through the shelves.

"Come on, I know it is around here somewhere. I was searching through the library for the story weeks ago, but I couldn't find a thing," a girl said. Edward recognized the voice as Hermione Granger's. The two other people in the aisle must have been Potter and Weasly to complete the dream team. It was as if those three were inseparable.

"Hermione, we have been in here for ages, now let us go. My head hurts," Ron complained pathetically.

"Ron, your head hurts whenever you pick up a book," Hermione commented. The insulted boy gave a few moans but nothing more. "There it is," she said. Edward heard a loud thud. The book that she had must have been pretty heavy in order to make that kind of noise.

"A Fairytale book? What do we need that for?" Harry asked curtly.

"I knew that I heard it somewhere, and now I remember. All is one and one is all. That was put into one of the stories that I heard as a kid, you know, the three musketeers? They changed the phrasing, but I am sure we could find the meaning of it would be the same, or similar," she replied. At the mention of the riddle that Edward had engraved in his brain, he became seriously interested. He dropped his book and walked over to the shelf that separated him and the student party and stood there listening for a little longer.

"Here it is. 'All for One, One for all'," Hermione read out loud to them.

"Bloody hell, Hermione! That is nearly the same thing! All they did was switch a few words around! What help that is!" Ron said. Edward could feel the impact of the girl's eye roll. That boy clearly had no detective skills.

"Ron, if you would ever read, you would know that quotes and riddles are only as good as the context that they are in. Obviously I have to read the scenario that they say this in or else they could be meaning anything," Hermione scoffed at the boy.

"I remember reading that book in school," Harry said. Ron muttered something about muggle literature and Edward heard a following thwack as Hermione whacked him across the head. "They said it as some sort of calling. Like 'never part!' 'Together we ride!' or something like that," Harry said doing little voice acting with his fake quotes.

"Exactly!" Hermione exclaimed. "Here they say, All for One and one for all, meaning that they will all join together for the same cause, which they do and then the story follows suit. The context clues however all lie in the word for, which is changed in the riddle to is."

"So the riddle changes only because the word 'for' is switched out for 'is'?" Harry asked.

"All is one and one is all," Ron repeated dryly. "It does have a nice ring to it. Who were these guys anyway?"

"The Three Musketeers, some special swordsmen who work underneath the Cardinal and King. There was actually four of them though," Hermione said back weakly.

"Is….is means to be," Harry said remembering his language class that he took before coming to Hogwarts. It seemed that his low rate education that the Durselys gave him was actually of some kind of use.

"So the physical being of all is exactly that or equal to one."

"BUT WHAT IS ALL?" Ron nearly shouted. His outbreak was immediately followed by a couple of hushes.

"Well, one in the context means you, 'one for all' 'one is all'. I don't know what all is though…. I am guessing everything," Hermione said nonchalantly. Edward heard a thump as the book was closed.

"Come on! All can't be everything! That's just stupid!" Ron argued. The boy let out a yelp as Hermione hit him over the head again.

"I would like to see you come up with something better!" she retorted.

"That is it! Everything is us, we are everything! Circle of life!" Harry announced happily. Edward decided that this was a good time to budge in. He casually pushed a few of the books aside from the shelf to make a little window into the next aisle.

"Congratulations! You figured it out! A lot faster than I did by the way and I didn't even give you a knife," Edward shouted coolly. The three students whipped about, their skin blanched out from nearly being frightened to death. He chuckled a bit at their terrified faces. Severus was right, scaring students is a lot of fun. He rounded the bookshelf to make himself fully visible to the students. Edward was kind of expecting the kids to say something rather than just stand there idle. But since they didn't say a word he continued. "Let me say, I was actually planning on making that your term exam but since you got it already figured out I guess I just have to make it homework for the rest of the class. I am surprised through, where could you possible hear that from?"

Harry stepped forward nervously like he was just caught stealing a cookie out of the cookie jar. "Al told us about it. We found him in a portrait on the fifth floor after the boggart was unleashed in the classroom. He was kind of upset, so we tried to comfort him a bit. It didn't work too well though," he admitted. Edward saw Hermione glare a little bit at Ron. He gave a longing sigh. Edward sent a letter to his brother that day just to make sure he was okay. He didn't hear anything back from him though which made him worry. However, Edward wasn't surprised that the painted Al wasn't taking the third of October well.

"Did the picture have a river in it?" Edward asked solemnly. The three of them nodded. He rubbed the back of his neck a bit. He was going to have to talk to the painting again. "Well, thank you for that. I know Al can be a little emotional and all. That day was kind of a sore spot on us both."

"Professor," Ron started, "Is Al a painting of your older brother?" Hermione was about to jab him in the ribs again but paused when Edward replied.

"Younger," Edward said quietly but stiffly. "Al is my younger brother." The three students looked surprised at each other but were smart to keep any comments to themselves. They knew how their alchemy professor exploded when his height was mentioned. The Library was definitely not one of these places to do it. "Well, congrats no homework this week for the three of you. I do request that you keep the answers to yourselves though. The riddle is one of the most important things one can learn in alchemy and it is best learned on your own." The three students nodded swiftly in return. Edward started to walk back to his little knook he made himself out of the library books he took off of the shelves. The three of them, for some reason followed him and stopped at the entrance of the science aisle. To see a teacher sitting on the floor with mountains of books piling up around them in no direct way of organization was definitely a sight to see. The three of them were a little befuddled by the amount of books Ed had around them and their state of disarray. Edward picked up a small tablet and ripped a page out of it and handed it to Harry.

"Harry, I remembered our talk in the corridor a few weeks back, yah know after I finished chasing Al? And I got you three permission to come with me and Hagrid to London next weekend in order to pick up some supplies. It was a bit tricky convincing the McGonagall lady to let you out of the castle with the circumstances and all, but I managed to let you come. I will be needing help around London after all, I have no clue what anything is around there," Edward said to them.

"Thanks Professor!" Harry exclaimed as he read the permission form that he was handed. The three of them took peeks at the paper to make sure it was official. It was. After thanking Edward several more times for the trip, the trio turned to leave the library. Harry however, couldn't fight a question that was itching the back of his mind and he returned to the knook where Edward was camped out in.

"Might I ask," Harry began slowly trying to get the studying teachers attention, "how did you learn the answer to the riddle? You must have figured it out some way." Edward looked up from the book he was holding with a mischievous grin.

"Like I said before, you three were let off easy. I learned the riddle with my brother when our teacher tossed us in the woods for a month to survive with nothing more but a knife and the clothes on our backs. I guess you figured it out faster than we did because you didn't have to worry about starving to death. We were only eight at the time though so we were still learning," Edward said casually.

…

The week went by faster than Edward had anticipated. The riddle was given out in class that week since they were going to start transmuting things the following. Several students got it within the first day of class, the older ones faster than the first years, but by the end of the week all of them possessed the knowledge of the riddle. Edward still couldn't believe that they managed to grasp the concept within a week while it took the two child geniuses an entire month. He then again remembered that they weren't starving to death in the middle of nowhere and had a library to look into.

The weather started to turn nasty by the weekend. It was the second to last weekend of October so England was set for a cold blast. He didn't expect it to have a wind chill of fifteen though. The morning of their trip, Edward stood bundled up in as many layers as he could get, several of which were some ragged and torn jackets he borrowed from Lupin. His red coat was his outer source of protection against the foul weather along with a couple of scarves he transmuted from his red bed drapes. On top of his head, Edward wore a large polecat fur bomber hat that Hagrid gave him. It was so big that it ran down and covered his forehead completely. He looked utterly ridiculous but he didn't care. Edward seeked warmth and the solution lay in a ginormous fluffly brown hat. Hermione, Harry, and Ron met the two teachers down in the clock tower entrance. They were all dressed warmly but not to the extent that Edward was.

"Okay are yeh all set?" Hagrid asked them merrily. He was probably dressed the lightest with only a large fur coat to protect him from the cold. Edward shivered just imagining what that would have been like. The four teenagers nodded in reply and Hagrid pulled out a beaten up old writing quill. "All right, we will be using port key today. I wanted to use the flu network but since we need to make a few stops in Muggle London as well as Diagon Alley Dumbledore deemed it unwise. Wouldn't want to go popping into some muggle's home now do we?" he said with a laugh.

The clock above them stroked eight and Hagrid hurried them to take hold of the quill. Edward didn't know what he was doing because he never traveled by port key before, but soon found out as the quill started to whip them about. Though the alchemist was a big fan of physics, he had to say that he didn't like circular motion when you were a part of the equation. When the key landed in the middle of a field just outside of suburban London, Edward was flung to the ground. He laid there for a couple minutes trying to hold in his breakfast while the wizards were barely phased by it. Hagrid leaned over the panting alchemist and dragged him to his feet.

"I know it ain't easy first time flying with the port, but dat how it is," he chuckled. The five of them met up with a road and took a bus to the city. Edward's eyes grew wide as they looked around at all of the stores they had there. The technology! The cars were flying by them in all shapes and sizes while people talked into, what Edward learned was mobile phones. With this much technology located in a single city of the country, Edward immediately vowed never to let Winry within a fifty mile radius of this place. Her mind would explode. Edward stopped by the window of a strange illuminating store with a strange fruit for a sign. Little rectangular devices laid in the display window as strange foreign music blasted out speakers.

"What the hell are these?" he asked jabbing his thumb at the window. Hermione nearly died of laughter while Harry and Ron of shock.

"You never heard of a cassette before? Their ancient!" Ron exclaimed. Edward shook his head pitifully.

"Well, what are they?" he asked again as it seemed the group were too busy laughing to answer the first time.

"They are a type of music player. We use CD's now but it all does the same," Harry informed.

"You do know what music is don't you?" Ron asked him. Edward clonked him on the head.

"Of course I know what music is I am not deaf!" Edward retaliated but when his ears caught hold of the strange pop music he withdrew a bit from Ron. "Just not like this," he mumbled lamely. Amestris was not into rock and roll yet. Still a country isolated from the rest of the world in technology, they were stuck with classical or folk waltzes. Rock and roll seemed to be like an entire new language to Edward. As they continued on, the four wizards continued to ask Edward about his country and its technological inventions.

"So you don't have any cars in your country?" Ron asked as they were in a construction store looking for raw materials. Edward was browsing the aisles for blocks of lead, granite, and wood to use for his student's transmutations. He would have been fine digging around the grounds for these, but Minivera didn't want him turning Hogwarts into a quarry.

"I do have vehicles but they are very basic with steam engines. I think they would be called a Model T here but I am not sure. Most of our vehicles are either made for military reasons or for farming," Edward said as he picked up two huge bricks of lead the three of them couldn't even imagine lifting themselves.

"So you don't have any then," Ron said flatly. Harry elbowed him.

"They have cars Ron," Hermione retorted. "They don't have to be a volvero inorder for it to be counted as a car!" Ron held up his hands defensively but Edward quickly filled them with a few blocks of wood.

"How are we going to get this all back? I mean we can't just lug this around all day!" Harry said looking up at Hagrid who held several blocks of metal and even more long timbers under his right arm. Edward was now carrying four large blocks of lead, two underneath each arm, while like Harry, Ron and Hermione were stuck with four light blocks of wood each. Though their piles were the lightest, the three students were still having trouble carrying it all the way through check out.

"Don't worry. We've got it settled," Edward reassured them. As soon as they stepped out of the store, Hagrid hurried them into a back of an alley where he dropped all of his things, nearly on top of Hermione's foot. He pulled out a large leather satchel that he had hung around his shoulder. Though it was large, the satchel was not _that_ large. It definitely could not fit several pounds of rock, wood, and two thirteen foot timbers no matter which way you turn them.

"Alright. In we go," Hagrid said as he shoved the long timbers into the bag individually. They amazingly disappeared and Hagrid began to place the other supplies into it. It seemed the satchel could go on indefinitely. After all of the things were put into his bag, Hagrid slung it across his chest like it only weighed a pound. "It is an indefinite bag. Flitwick gave it to me last Christmas. It can hold everything yah need and not change a bit. However, you need to remember everything yah put in er so you know when it is empty and when it is not," he informed them. Edward kept the receipt in his pocket so they wouldn't lose track of anything. He didn't want his well spent money to go to waste.

After a few more stops in Muggle London, one which included lunch, the four wizards and one overly dressed muggle walked through the Leaky Cauldron and into Diagon Alley. Hagrid had to pick up a few bottles of Fobbleworm moisturizer and a couple Polecat traps. Edward and Hermione helped get a few ingredients for the potion stores from a list that Severus gave them. After all the shopping was done and the group stepped back into the bitter cold once more, they all realized that they still had some extra time on their hands before the port key would launch off. Hagrid went to the Leaky Cauldron to get a few drinks while Harry and his friends showed Edward around the market place. They stopped at nearly every bookstore that Edward could get his hands on, the three wizards literally having to drag him out of everyone, and even Madam Malkins to get Edward a couple thicker winter coats. Harry went into Eelop's Owl Emporium in order to get a few jars of owl treats for Hedwing. Edward glanced around at the multitude of birds that the store had that ranged from anything from a large Grey owl to a small elf owl.

"Edward do you have an owl?" Hermione asked him as he studied the animal of flight as they hopped around from the perches. He shook his head.

"No, I have been using the school's owls in the West Tower. Severus let me borrow his on several occasions but only for reports back to Central. Lupin has been lending me his when I want to send a letter back home…. Why don't you guys just act like normal people and use a post office? Or even a phone for that matter?" Edward roughly asked them. The three of them shrugged a bit. No one knew. They just didn't.

"Why don't you get one then? I mean Lupin can only lend you his so often and Snape… well he won't stay happy forever," Ron said.

"I just don't want a humongous bird flapping around my office while I am teaching class. Unlike my brother, I am not much of a pet person," Edward replied.

"Well don't think of it as a menace, think about it as a benefit. With having your own, you could send things home more often," Harry said which was kind of ironic since he didn't send anything to the Dursleys. They would have a fit knowing that he was still alive. After a few more pesters from the students and even the shop owner, Edward got a small Flammulated Owl. It was small enough that he wouldn't have to bother with it buzzing around his classroom, but amazingly strong enough that it could lift any package within reason. Though he was still a little troubled with getting a pet the fact that he could place the bill on his state alchemist tab made it a bit better.

Though the keeper gave him a small cage to put his owl in, Edward didn't use it. With the blistering cold winds that they were walking around in he just placed the tiny owl in his overly large hat to keep it warm. Its wings would probably freeze up otherwise. The four teens left the shops and met Hagrid back in the Leaky cauldron. His face was flushed red with laughter from the pub, a couple drinks helped move that along, but luckily he was still able to stand. They caught the port key home around three and landed back in the clock tower where they once stood earlier that evening. Edward still couldn't handle the ride and doubled over finally giving up his lunch. Hagrid joined him after he realized the drinks weren't going to settle with him too well. After creating a huge mess on the floor there was nothing preventing Filch the caretaker from kicking them all the way back to their dorms.

….

As it turned out, the small owl fell in love with the stupid hat. It rested on the corner of his desk sleeping in the pile of fur that made it. Hagrid let him keep it since he had several others hanging in his hut. Edward didn't know what to name it so he just called the small fellow Scops after the genus the little thing belonged to. The bird gave the same attitude towards the name as he did as it just snored there in the hat.

The next day, Sunday, Edward needed to prepare materials for the next day's class. Though the rock blocks and shorter stacks of materials were all the perfect size, he needed to cut up the thirteen foot timbers. Ever since they brought them back from London the timbers were just lying in his class room like loose firewood. In the early afternoon, Edward decided it was the right time to take the logs outside to be divided. Just as he slung one of the beams over his shoulder however, there came a knock on his door.

"Come in," Edward sighed as he heaved the timber over his shoulder. Harry and Ron entered the classroom carrying a cardboard box of papers. They gaped at their teacher as he lifted the fairly heavy beam off of the ground like it was picking up a book bag.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked him as Edward walked over to his desk to grab his hat. Though it did warm up a bit from the day before, he still was going to wear the fur hat because his automail made everything ten times worse. Scops, who was still resting in the accessory, didn't like the fact that he was being moved from its warm bed and tried to peck at Edward. Of course it was his right hand so he ignored it and slapped the hat on his head. Scops in defeat flew onto his head and nestled under the furry earflaps on top.

"I am chopping these timbers up so that we can use them in class tomorrow," Edward said. He started to walk out of the classroom but looked back at the last beam. He was planning to come back for it later since it would have been nearly impossible to carry two of them down to the grounds at once. "You know, why don't you two grab that log and follow me. I might as well make this in once go," Edward said and left the classroom. A little surprised at his order, the two boys struggled to pick up the timber and follow him out of the classroom. They were secretly wondering how Edward could do it all by himself when they were constantly shifting the long around between them. The three of them marched the beams down to the grounds in front of Hagrids hut. Edward carelessly tossed his from off his shoulder like an unwanted backpack but Harry and Ron exhaustedly dropped theirs to the ground and doubled over panting. Edward gave the two of them weird looks.

"You can't possibly be tired already! We have much more work to do," Edward said to them and walked to Hagrid's shack. The two of them looked irritated at each other when Edward came back hauling three large lumber axes. Hagrid had agreed to let Edward borrow his tools whenever they he needed them. These axes were only used around Christmas when the teachers would go out for trees for the great hall. Edward tossed two of them to the boys and started to hack several grooves evenly though out one of the timbers. After he was done making the grooves he looked up expectantly at the two students.

"You do know how to use one of these right?" Edward asked them tauntingly. Harry nodded his head, but Ron looked completely out of it. He shoved the marked timber towards them and lined them up on opposite ends. "Alright. If you are ready, start chopping in the marks that I have made," Edward instructed them. He started on his own log while the two wizards just looked at each other a bit befuddled. When they went to the alchemy class room that morning, they weren't expecting to be chopping wood.

"Professor, you are the alchemy teacher, so why don't you just science these things apart?" Ron asked as he swung the axe at the log. In his attempt, he missed his mark by a clear five inches and the thing got stuck in the fresh wood. Edward sighed and walked over to where the boy was struggling to get the tool unstuck. He grabbed hold of the handle and gave it a good twist and tug where it fell out of the log and he handed it back to the kid. Harry made his own attempt at the log and hit his mark dead on. All of those garden chores that the Dursleys made him do paid off.

"Ron, as my teacher told me, it is better to know how to rely on yourself than on your alchemy, or in your case sorcery. Even though she taught me a lot of alchemy it didn't mean that we were mean to use it. If you can do it by hand, then do it by hand," Edward said to him.

"But it would be a lot faster and easier to do it with magic," Ron complained.

"Yes, but magic makes you lazy," Edward jabbed back and went about his own chopping. Ron looked completely agrivated. Harry could see that coming from an all wizard family, magic was all that Ron really knew and grew up with. He wasn't used to the work unless it dealt with a certain magical aspect like de-gnoming the garden, which is a lot harder than it looks. Chopping wood had no magic properties to it at all, it was just chopping wood.

"You seem to talk a lot about your teacher Professor. She seemed to take it hard on you if you weren't allowed to use alchemy or anything especially when she sent you out in the woods for a month," Harry said. Ron didn't hear the story about the teacher sending him out in the woods to solve the riddle and he was absolutely shocked.

"What kind of teacher does that?" He exclaimed as the axe went down. It finally hit his mark and he wasn't even looking. "No wonder you think we are all lazy, she turned you into a survival machine!" Edward split a section of the log off and glared up at the boys for a second. They were absolutely frightened by the death glare he gave them, but then he started to laugh and fear turned into complete confusion.

"Izumi wasn't a bad teacher, she was one of the best. Even though she scared the shit out of us our first couple months with her, with all the knives she threw and stuff, it was all for the best. We learned how to defend ourselves, how to strategically think, and how to perform alchemy. There are some things that are easier to teach in an active environment," he chuckled in return.

"You mean like dodging knives?" Ron exclaimed.

"If I never learned how to dodge a knife I would be dead by now," Edward said flatly. "What I meant was, I could read the two of you a million books on alchemy and how to perform it, but when you come down to it, that is just knowledge. If you never attempted to try it, you don't know if you can actually perform it. To train the mind, one must first train the body. That was why my alchemy teacher had us do all of those exercises," Edward said to them. One more shop and another section of the log fell apart. He was already halfway done with his log while Harry and Ron's timber wasn't even that.

"When are we going to start learning alchemy?" Harry asked. He swung one more time and finally got another section to fall to the ground.

"I was going to have it this week, so Thursday for you guys. Your brothers will be learning it tomorrow and so are the first and second years," Edward informed the two. They looked a little upset that they will be the last to learn how to actually do anything, Edward gave them a light hearted chuckle. "It isn't like they are going to actually make anything on their first go. No one can make a successful transmutation on their first go, even if they did it wouldn't be anything special," he laughed.

"When did you do your first transmutation?" Harry asked.

"When I was five," Edward replied plainly. Ron and Harry gaped at each other. They continued to chop wood until well into lunch. When Edward was finished he looked over to see how the boys were coming along. Harry managed to separate five out of thirteen marks rather choppily while Ron only had two botch jobs finished. He helped them out and the work was finished by one o clock. The three of them lashed the segments together with rope and hauled the bundles back up to the third floor Defense Against the Dark Arts tower where the alchemy classroom was. Edward tossed the logs into the back of the classroom. He tossed his hat back on the desk nearly forgetting that Scops was in there and got chased for a little bit by a six inch bird.

"I should really put that thing in his cage," Edward mumbled after the bird was snuggled back into the warm hat on his desk. As he and the two boys were about to head down to lunch, Edward caught sight of the cardboard box Harry was carrying before he sent them to chop wood. He picked it up and peered inside to see it full of moving black and white photographs, photographs of him. "What are these for?" he asked the two. They turned around like they nearly forgot it was there.

"Oh, Colin Creevy took a couple of photos of you when you and the Colonel were taking the assessment. He finally got them developed and wants you to sign them or something," Ron said. Edward dumped the box of photos out on his desk. There were nearly one hundred of them in there and they were all of one event that lasted only a half hour. Edward raised his eyebrow at the boys questionably, but they shrugged as if it was normal that the kid obsessively takes photos of everything. Most of the pictures were crowded with dust or were of stone fists flying around. Edward picked up one of Mustang and Armstrong falling through the ground into the pit that he created for them.

"I am not one to sign anything, but mind if I keep this one?" he asked holding it up to them. The look on Roy's face was priceless and perfect potential blackmail material.

"How did you do that anyway?" Harry asked. He was in Transfigurations at the time, but he could get a pretty good view out of the window of the classroom. Edward didn't do any transmutation after what looked like a failed one. It seemed like the ground just gave out on its own.

"When Mustang and Armstrong were waiting for me to advance, I transmuted the ground underneath them to be fragile and unstable. When they shifted their weight around it gave out. Mustang still doesn't want to claim it as my victory since I physically didn't take him out myself, but what does he know?" Edward said still shifting through the photos. Ron and Harry, who didn't really get a good look at them before sat down and searched through them. Ron pulled up one where Edward was fighting Armstrong with his blade. Made Edward look kind of badass, up until the point where Armstrong gave him a good sock. With the zoomed in picture it looked pathetic.

"How did you make a sword out of your coat?" Ron asked stupidly. Harry looked expectedly at Edward wondering the same thing. They already knew the laws of equivalent exchange and that was obviously not following it. Edward paused for a moment but then came up with a quick lie. He wasn't going to show them his automail after all, the only proof they had was a picture.

"I had a piece of metal strapped to my wrist before I entered the field. I transmuted that. It was also the reason why I couldn't leave the field afterwards," Edward noted. He had just come across an embarrassing photo of him banging on the wall of the arena. He would have to burn that later. Burn it and then scatter the ashes. Harry and Ron bought it. They said it was clever of him to do so before hand. In reality Edward probably would have never thought of that to begin with. After sifting through the photos one more time, Edward handed the box back to Harry to take back to Colin. He didn't like the idea of signing anything. It was a complete waste of time when they already had a live action photo in front of them. He didn't completely leave the kid helpless however. He wrote the kid a note thanking him for the photo and then signed his name on the bottom of that. There was no way however, he was ever signing a photograph.


	8. Tricks, Treats, and Scandelous Deeds

**YAY! Halloween! yay! Let me say it is actually my favorite holiday. you get to dress up and stuff (the candy is just a bonus the real fun is in the costumes!) Okay here is this chapter, yet again it is a little more serious. sorries to all of those comedy lovers like me. Thankyou for all the reviews! **

CHAPTER 8

Tricks, Treats, and Scandalous Deeds

"All right class, lets get started on transmuting today," Edward announced as he walked to the front of the class. Several whoops and hollers rang out as he started to draw the transmutation circle on the chalk board. He knew that they were all excited for this moment ever since they got finished with the riddle solving, however he also knew that those cheers of joy would soon be washed away with the many failed attempts that would come with the weeks. The blocks of lumber lay on the desks in front of his students and a piece of parchment lay next to it. Edward turned to the class after he finished drawing the circle, they stared at him eager eyed and alert. The twins were the most anticipated ever since he showed them that letter bombing technique. He has been making a couple for them every now and then just for fun. He frequently saw a few angry mud covered kids storm through the halls followed by the sound of laughter from the Weasly twins.

"I took the liberty of drawing the needed circle on the board for you so that you could all get started right away. Sketch it on the parchment in front of you and then, when your ink has dried, place the wood in the center of it." One by one, they all followed instructions. He took out his own block of wood and placed it on his desk for demonstration. When they were all done prepping the lab, he continued. "We are going to be shape shifting the wood into a statue of some sort. What you need to do is focus on the picture that you would want to make and then the materials used to make it and how to make it. After you got it entirely figured out, and only after that, can you place your hands next to the circle and transmute the log," Edward directed them. He clapped his hands and transmuted his log into a miniature statue of Den the Rockbell's dog.

"Now remember, if you figure out the materials, and how to deconstruct it and reconstruct it, you can transmute anything with it reason. However, I must warn you, there are sometimes backfires in transmutations. These happen when you do not evaluate all of the materials correctly, use the wrong circle, or just do something completely dumb. They are sometimes extremely painful but are easily prevented if you all keep to the laws," he warned them. Several students nervously shifted around in their chairs. When he let them begin, the students went into minutes upon minutes of failed transmutation. George managed to decompose a few layers of his log and Fred managed to catch his log on fire. At this several students panicked but Edward quickly put out the flame by clapping his hands and dispersing the oxygen in the air.

"Fred, next time don't let the atoms create too much friction," Edward advised him and returned his block back to a less charred state. Next to him, Edward saw a girl attempt to transmute her block by clapping her hands like he did and then placing them around the circle. He could have hit himself. He walked over to the girl's desk and put his hand on his face in frustration.

"Angelina, what are you doing?" he asked her. She looked mightily confused so he had to rephrase. "Why are you clapping your hands before you transmute?" She looked a little taken aback by this probably thinking that he was a huge hypocrite for scolding her.

"I was just copying what you were doing. I thought it might help since you do it every time," she said shyly. Many of the other students stopped their transmutations or arson attempts for Fred, and leaned in as if anticipated for an answer. A couple of them started to whisper back and forth making comments on his technique. He really wanted to punch himself.

"Angelina, I clap because I need to not because it is how it is done. As many of you probably noticed that I don't use a transmutation circle," Edward said and this sent up a fury of whispers and side comments that he didn't really appreciate.

"But how can you do that? You said that a circle was absolutely necessary to do a transmutation!" a slytherin boy shouted out. As the interruptions and comments got louder Edward rubbed his aching head in frustration. Scops seemed to sense this and silenced the class with a loud bark. The noise of his call made all the people cover their ears in order to not be deafened by the sound.

"Thank you Scops," Edward said to the bird after the sound died down. The tiny owly just nestled back into the hat and dosed off. He turned back to his class who were now completely silent. "I did mean it that transmutation circles are needed in every single attempt of alchemy out there," Edward said sternly. Just as a kid opened her mouth to comment he raised a hand to silence it.

"Very few people, myself included, know how to do alchemy like this. Some say that we still use a circle because when we clap our hands we are completing the connection even though nothing is physically written." Edward gave the silent room a serious death glare. They all turned somber immediately. "However, I do not want any of you attempting to gain this knowledge, because we all know to gain something we must give something in return. The price for this knowledge is too imaginably great that it is not worth it. I advise you all to stick with the circles you have," Edward said nearly threatening them. He turned back to his desk and slumped down in the seat exhausted. A few whispers picked up in the class but nothing major enough to send Scops out again. They one by one started to pick up their transmuting again.

"What did you have to pay?" George asked quietly after a few moments. Edward looked up from his desk and looked at him for a few moments. He knew he was just curious, but it was still a question that he didn't want to answer. Yet he couldn't fully lie to them either. As he always said, a story without pain is no lesson to be taught. He looked around at the class, all their eyes were upon him.

"I gave up most of my childhood," Edward sighed.

…

Many of the other classes that week were basically the same with the student's attempts at making statues; all failures. Neville actually was able to make the bottom half of his statue, but of course he was trying to make a donkey so there were many puns that flew around the room that day. Of course the scary story of his 'power' as they called it got around so he didn't have to repeat that conversation ever again. Unfortunately this caused many students to either become frightened of him or talk to him as if he was about to die; in hushed pitied voices. He felt like he could murder the next person who looked at him like that.

Since the weather seemed to pick up that week and Edward could step outside without having to toss on a giant winter hat, he spent most of his time down near the Whomping Willow. He figured that he should train while the weather was still nice since the cold was going to be a pain in the later months. Pomona Sprout, having a fondness for plants, especially dangerous ones, made sure to keep an eye on him so that he wouldn't hurt the poor tree. Edward thought that she was a bit crazy since the tree was at least twenty times bigger than him and for some reason seemed to be enjoying the attention. He guessed the tree liked a man with a purpose. As he bounced around and evasively fought the tree, Edward accidentally rounded off the trunk of it and stepped on some sort of knot. As Edward was planning his footing to counteract the swings of the Whomping willow, he fell over unexcitingly. The tree had just froze. It stopped swinging, it stopped moving, it stopped everything. Edward was kind of worried for the poor thing, a tree like that would never actually seem to be put to rest. He walked over to the trunk where he recently kicked off of and studied it a bit. Out of a little bit of curiosity, Edward looked up at the knot and tapped it again with his finger. The tree immediately lashed out at him and a long leafless bough almost nicked his head. "Sorry!" Edward screamed as he dodged the swinging tree a couple more times. It seemed that he hit a sore spot of the tree. The willow was a tad bit angry with him which made practice all the more enjoyable.

As the days neared closer to Halloween, Edward became more confused on the concept of this holiday. At first glance of the pumpkins and gourds that decorated the hall, he thought that it was much like the Harvest celebration that they had in Resembool, but then came the costumes. The strange things that the students were planning to dress up as confused Edward the most. He caught several kids in his first year class doodling sketches of their costumes on their homework and in their books. He tried casually getting the answer out of his collegues and students without looking to obvious but since they weren't giving in Edward had to push it out of them directly. They were standing in the Great Hall the day before Halloween with a few extra boxes of decorations that Filius was helping to put up. Hagrid brought in his prized pumpkin, which was nearly seven feet tall, itself, and was having Edward help carve it.

"Hagrid," Edward said as he started to saw the top of the pumpkin with his automail blade. He didn't have to worry about the students seeing it since they were all in their dorms for the night. "What is this all about?" The top popped clean off and Edward tossed it aside. He hopped into the large thing with a shovel and started to scoop out the innards. Hagrid peered through the top of the pumpkin at him.

"Well, I thought that you would have fun carving it. I mean, you seemed to be having fun when you were hacking up tha Mustang during your assessment," Hagrid began as he helped lift a shovel of goo out.

"No Rubius, what is Halloween? I have been trying to figure it out for the longest time, but I don't get it. Why would anyone in their right mind dress up in weird costumes?" He asked as he flung a couple more shovels out of the gourd. Hagrid let out a bellowing laugh which rang throughout the fruit.

"I don't really know myself. I guess it is just a bit of the spirit. It's actually a muggle holiday that we adapted a bit, probably because they usually dress up like witches and wizard," Hagrid said. Edward tossed the shovel out off the top and then stabbed the pumpkin with his blade to start carving it. He had no clue what he was going to make it, but he just went with it.

"Is there anything else to it, or can I just sum this up as a day of loonies?" Edward said as he side kicked a chunk of the wall out. It created a little window in the pumpkin and he could see Remus standing right outside of it. His clothes were as tattered as ever and his skin seemed to be getting a bit paler, yet with the changes in his appearance his yellow eyes seemed to shine a bit brighter that evening.

"Well, Halloween was originally created to send good tidings to neighbors after the fall harvest by going over to their houses dressed up and leave treats and pies on their doorstep. It seems like the muggles reversed it in the years though and started giving candy to the people that came over to their houses instead," Remus informed him. Edward punched another chunk of pumpkin out. Lupin helped pick up the chunks and toss them into a wheelbarrow that Hagrid pulled in.

"It is still bull's whack if you ask me," Edward mumbled. He looked up from his work and saw the man struggling with a specifically large piece of pumpkin. "Are you alright? You don't look too well," Edward said to him. Lupin just laughed weakly and managed to shove the piece on top of the growing pile.

"It comes and goes," he said simply. "You don't look too well yourself might I say." It was true. Edward's auto mail even with the spells that Poppy put on them were acting up. They were in need of some good oiling and the lack of movement that they had made it more of an effort for him to move around. He was after all, lugging around at least fifty pounds of metal on his body. However Edward just gave him a shrug in return. He would have to find some oil in one of the supply cabinets, there was bound to be some somewhere. After Edward was finished with carving god knows what, Rubius lifted a not so happy Elric out of the pumpkin. He hated the fact that he was too short to get out of it himself and being picked up like a child made the man belittle his size even further. It turned out, that even though Edward was never a good pumpkin carver, he did a pretty good job. There was a sketchy outline of a castle, sort of like Hogwarts, and then a waxing moon in the corner. It was a simple pattern but it still looked pretty good considering that he was not artist. After setting the pumpkin a lite and levitating to the ceiling, the teachers rallied off to bed. Tomorrow was a big day after all.

….

"Harry, it seems that the only thing you fear is fear itself. Let me say that that is pretty brave factor of you to take on," Lupin said to him as he prepared a cup of tea for them both. It was Halloween and the day of the Hogsmede trip. Harry was probably the only person in the third year that was stuck in the castle with a bunch of first and second years. He would have been fine with staying back in the common room if it hadn't been for Colin Creevey tailing him all day. Professor Lupin took him into the class room after a walk around the castle for a talk. They have been discussing the boggart in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. For some reason, Lupin wouldn't let him face the boggart himself in class. He said that it was the fact that the boggart would have probably turned into Voldemort, but for some reason he didn't think it would. The last thing that Harry thought of before the boggart approached him was the dementors.

"But sir, how am I supposed to fight my fear if-" Harry began but then there was a knock on the door. Edward came marching into the room with two goblets boiling and steaming.

"Good morning Remus," Edward said tiredly. He was up all night in the Library looking through the alchemy books. It was another dead end. "Severus made this for us. He sent the rest up to Poppy but he gave me a goblet to give to you." Edward handed the steaming cup of grey mush to the teacher.

"Thank you Edward. I heard about your fight with Irma this morning. How did you manage to come out of it alive?" Remus chuckled. It was true, Edward did get into a fight with the librarian. After his long night of researching nothing but alchemy itself, he fell asleep on top of the books. Pince being an overly obsessed book worm found him there and nearly killed him for messing up the library and drooling a bit on the texts. Let him say, he still had a couple harsh paper cuts from the lady. She had a good arm when it came to chucking books at his head, and she said _he _was the destructive one. Edward gave a good natured sigh and took a sip of his own cup of boiling liquid.

"god damn it!" he moaned as the intense chill was sent through his automail making a foul grimace spread over his face. Lupin took a sip out of his own cup and winced as the dry flavor was sent down his throat.

"Is it really that nasty?" Harry asked the two teachers drink the painful looking liquid. They nodded a bit. Edward took the entire goblet in one shot not wanting to wait out the taste and nearly fell out of his chair. He gripped his shoulder and massaged it a bit.

"It is really dry, like unsweetened hazel nuts or bitter baking chocolate," Lupin said as he gently took a sip of the potion in the complete opposite manner as Elric did. "Unfortunately sugar makes it useless so I just have to tough through it."

"You have to tough through it? This stuff is freezing!" Edward exclaimed as he regained his balance on his chair.

"Oh, right you come from the south don't you?" Harry asked him. Edward could have kissed him for his stupidity, but nodded instead. That was one lie he wouldn't have to tell the kid today. "What is it for?" Harry asked motioning towards the still steaming empty goblets.

"I don't know," Edward mumbled. He still didn't find out what he was drinking or what it was for, but he did trust the nurse's knowledge. The rest of the teachers, including Dumbledore thought that it was a good precaution for him to take anyway. Dumbledore still had doubts about him taking the potion, something about his eye colour being natural, but since it put the other teachers at rest he gave in.

"It is just a medical precaution that is all. Severus was so kind to have made it for me with its difficult ingredients and formulae," Remus said. Harry looked a bit taken aback when Remus mentioned about Severus giving him the potion. Edward knew it had something to do with the man's reputation with the students. Though Severus was a cruel teacher and rather biased when it came to houses, he wasn't a bad guy. In fact, his twisted sense of humour was always due for a good laugh. Edward decided to change the subject back so as to not pry into the teacher's affairs or reasoning any further.

"Okay, sorry for interrupting you guys. What were you lot talking about anyways?" Edward inquired. He was relieved to see Harry settle down a bit. Snape's honour was still intact, even though trust between him and his students never existed.

"We were talking about the boggart I had in class and why I wouldn't let harry fight it," Remus recapped. Edward blanched a bit remembering his own encounter with the creature. He was sure that he would never want that again. "I think that my reasoning was logical. I wouldn't want You Know Who appearing in front of the other students. It would cause a panic."

"No I don't know who," Edward said flatly. Harry looked at him a bit shocked. Everyone knew who Voldemort was, even if you go by the name of you know who!

"Voldemort," Harry answered. Edward shrugged and shook his head. Harry looked like he has seen blasphemy. Remus interrupted before this could get any wilder.

"Edward, you are a muggle from a different country so it is probably logical to assume that you don't know much about the affairs in this country," Remus said more towards Harry to calm him down a bit. "A few years ago, there was a Great Wizarding War in this country, a little like the civil war in yours. There was a group of wizards here that thought that purebloods were better than the rest of us and should rule over everything. Voldemort was the leader of this group during the war and still is," Lupin said as if telling a horror story.

"But why should Harry be afraid of him?" Edward asked. Harry nearly fell out of his chair and Lupin laughed a bit.

"Voldemort was defeated when he tried to kill Harry here when he was a baby. Something went wrong and the killing curse rebounded. It is pretty logical that the inevitable return of Voldemort would be the thing that scared Harry," Lupin said. Edward looked the boy over a few times suspiciously. He looked pretty normal to him, except that scar on his forehead, he shrugged it off however.

"Was it?" Edward asked him still looking at Harry.

"No, what it turned out to be was fear itself. The boggart would have turned into a dementor if it had faced Harry. I think you had a run in with those creatures as well Edward. You know how terrible they could get."

"I didn't know it was one until you told me at the meal. Remember, I still couldn't see creatures," he replied. Just then the tea pot boiled and Lupin poured the lot of them a cup. Edward only took the cup to be polite. He wasn't really a tea drinker himself. Afterwards Lupin took out a quill and started to sketch something out on a blank strip of parchment.

"I might as well show you. This is what a dementor would look like, please excuse my art work," he said as he handed the doodle over to Edward. It was a tiny ink sketch of a floating cloak with weird skeleton hands coming out from underneath it. Edward could see how something like that would scare someone, it looked like the thing that haunts normal people's nightmares or hides underneath your bed. The doodle sort of reminded Edward of the grim reaper, in a sort of creepy twisted way.

"Damn, you mean that this is what that thing looked like on the train?" Edward asked a bit surprised. When he was attacked by that invisible monster, he didn't really know what to think of it. He was thinking more along the lines of an invisible homunculus but nothing like that. Lupin gave a nod.

"Wait so you were attacked on the train too?" Harry asked him.

"Well, I didn't know it at the time, but yes. It wasn't until the third of October that I could actually see magical creatures. I could see animals like the owls and everything just fine, but when it came to this," Edward said motioning to the picture of the dementor. "I couldn't see them at all."

"Yes," Lupin gave a dry chuckle. "I am sad to say the day that we gave him the spell, was the day that boggart got loose. Definitely wasn't the best way to start a magical experience," he said. Edward gave a sad shrug.

"If you don't mind me asking professor, what was that thing that the boggart turned into?" Harry asked insensibly. The teacher seemed to freeze as if pondering whether to answer or not but thought better of it. He got up from his chair and reached across the table to grab the goblets.

"Lupin, don't forget about it," he said holding up the goblet. "You need to take this stuff again tomorrow." Edward left the room without looking back at the two occupants. They were left in lost anticipation.

…

Edward was coming out of the library with a couple of language books in his hands. His translation spell gave out again that after noon and he had to go back to Dumbledore to get it renewed. With the language books in the library, he figured that he might as well learn a bit of English while he still could so that he wouldn't need to worry about the spell anymore.

It was almost time for the Halloween feast and Edward was not too thrilled about it. The other teachers tried to get him excited about the holiday, but it seemed just crazy the more they explained it to him. Since he was a teacher and it was a formal occasion, Edward had to go; in his military uniform. He was winding his way down the fourth floor corridor when he saw a cat scamper across the way. It looked like Crookshanks, Hermione's pet, and he didn't look like he was up to any good. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the cat bolt towards a small lump of fur on the floor. It of course was Scabbers. Didn't know how the animals got out of the dormitory, but he had to agree with Ron that the cat had it in for his pet rat. Edward debated whether or not to interfere with the animals but decided towards it. He would get out of the feast anyways and the embarrassment of having to wear his stupid uniform would be avoided.

He played cat and mouse all the way up three flights of stairs to the seventh floor. Scabbers wasn't looking too good the entire race, his fur was all patchy and he looked terribly thin. As if looking for sanctuary, the rat ran towards the portrait of the Fat Lady where the Gryffindor dormitories were hidden. The poor rat struggled to open the door, of course being a rat wasn't helping, and the cat pounced. Following the cat, Edward lunged towards the two fighting animals and pulled the rat out of Crookshank's mouth. The wad of fur and tail was a pit startled and ruffed up, not to mention slobbered over, but it was still alive. Edward held the frightened rat in his left and looked down to where crookshanks was clawing his right. The cat even resourced to biting his automail in an attempt to make him drop the rodent, but just managed to get its teeth stuck beneath one of the metal plates.

"Well this can't get any more exciting," Edward mumbled as he stood up. Crookshanks dangled helplessly from his arm. He recited the password and then tossed the rat into the Gyffindor common room. He shut the door and then looked down at his arm, the cat was still making pitiful attempts to free itself from the automail.

"You know, you might want to get that looked at," the Fat Lady said cheerfully to him as he tried to get the darn cat off his arm. It seemed like it was really stuck there.

"No kidding," he muttered. He sat down in the corridor and facing the portrait of the lady and started to study how the cat was lodged into his automail plating. It would have been a lot easier if his jacket was off, but seeing that it wasn't really an option with the animal blocking his way, he made due. Just then a loud clattering came down the corridor and Peeves the poltergeist appeared bouncing on the walls and banging pots and pans against the agitate pictures. When he caught sight of Edward he stopped and gave a shrill laugh.

"What's the matter dwarf boy? Cat caught your arm?" He hollered down at him. Edward stood up and tried to punch the ghost but he stood just outside of his reach. Crookshanks bounced helplessly on his arm.

"Who you calling so short that if he had six other twins he could reenact a fairytale?" he busted out in anger. The poltergeist gave another laugh at him. Edward clapped his hands together and combusted the air around him sending a blasting shockwave at the poltergeist. It hit him and he was flung across the corridor screaming. "Stupid half assed goblin," Edward mumbled as he returned to his work on the cat. After a few good pokes, prods, pulls, and pinches, the cat came free of his arm. He was about to set the animal down, but it tried to scratch him and he took advantage of the situation and tossed it a few feet down the corridor. Alphonse would have been terrified if he saw him do that.

The cat had left his right sleeve in ruins. There were claw marks up and down the material and there was a huge chunk missing. He couldn't go down to the feast like that, well, he could but the Colonel would have his ass for it. Edward clapped his hands and was about to fix his coat, but then heard a strange shuffle coming from the shadows. He turned his head but there was nothing there. After a moment of silence, Edward finished mending his coat and walked down the staircase a little disturbed by the strange sound. When Edward was almost to the sixth floor he heard a bellowing scream shrill enough to shatter glass. Instead of acting like a normal person, Edward bolted back up the staircase and froze. Where the Fat Lady once stood, was a tattered picture in ruins. The Lady had simply vanished even though her screams could be heard down the corridor.

"SOMEONE PLEASE SAVE US! HE'S HERE! THE MONSTER IS HERE IN THE CASTLE!" Edward heard as the cries softly died away. He heard another strange shuffling sound come from his right, but yet again there was nothing there. The corridor was empty. A few chattering voices grew as the students from the Great Hall were approaching their dormitory. He didn't turn around as the front students screamed at what they saw. The portrait, the sentry of the dorm, was attacked. A kid shoved his way to the front of the terrified crowd.

"I am Head Boy stand aside, make way!" he commanded as the crowd parted. "Professor what is going on?" he asked him. A crowd of whispers started up.

"Well it wasn't human," Edward muttered to himself. This just confused the older boy even more. Edward scoured the canvas but turned around when he heard a familiar elderly voice.

"Mr. Elric, I think and explanation is in order," Dumbledore said to him quietly. As Edward was about to tell them what was going on, Peeves, who made his miraculous return, answered.

"Oh it was terrible," Peeves announced over dramatically and a bit insulting. "I saw the whole thing! After the dwarf here got the cat off of his arm, a man came up from down the corridor!" Edward trembled in anger from being called a dwarf the second time that evening and Dumbledore looked at him curiously. The headmaster didn't know what to think about the cat comment.

"Who was it Peeves?" Albus asked calmly.

"It was terrible! After the Fat Lady refused to let him through, he lashed out of her!" he announced still a little out of Elric's reach. "She ran down the hallway screaming something dreadful! The poor dear," Peeves added not too convincingly. "That man has a serious temper, that Sirius Black." Edward stopped trying to grab the poltergeist and had a really bad feeling in his stomach.

….

The entire school was herded down to the Great Hall where tables were pushed aside and purple squashy sleeping bags were laid out for them to use. All of the houses were mixed together that night causing a panic through the entire school. The Head boys and girls were all walking around giving out orders as if they owned the place, but actually managed to keep the children calm to Edward's surprise. They just seemed like a lot of hot headed seniors to him rather than a group of leaders. The teachers were sent off to search the castle for any trace of Sirius Black, but Edward was ordered to stay behind and guard the door. He however, believed that it was truly because he was a bit suspicious to them after being caught at the crime scene far away from his own quarters. He still couldn't get over the state of the painting though. It was left with huge slash marks down the center. It looked as if an animal ripped it apart or something. He thought that Crookshanks might have gotten to it and that Peeves was lying, but the cat was too small to create such a mess like that. As the night wore on Edward walked around the hall, helping the head boys and girls get the students to bed. Several of the students looked suspiciously at him, but he ignored them. Rumors tend to make people like that. When the teachers returned empty handed, Dumbledore and Snape called Edward over after all the students seemed to be in bed.

"I must ask you a very serious question Elric," the headmaster said softly as to not awake the students. "What were you doing on the seventh floor when you were supposed to be down at the feast?" Edward gave them a quick recap of the events from the library to the third floor. Dumbledore's face remained monotone, but Severus seemed not so convinced.

"You said the cat bit your arm," Snape replied bitterly. "If that is so where are the marks?"

"It was my automail, so it left no scarring, but it did rip my coat," Edward said lifting up his perfectly mended sleeve. "I fixed it though through alchemy, but all the signs are there. You can see where the fabric's pattern and shade changes and that the cloth is a bit thinner in that position than the rest." The teachers studied it and nodded in acknowledgement.

"So it seems," Dumbledore muttered. "Sorry to have accused you Edward. Severus here thinks that black might have been let in by someone on the inside. I however, have full faith in my faculty here at Hogwarts," he said to him still eyeing Edward for a second. After a little while, Dumbledore left to go make other preparations for the night and Severus rounded on him.

"I do believe that what you say is true, Elric," Snape sneered, "but that still doesn't make you all the less suspicious. I know that it had to be someone in here and I will get to the bottom of it. I will not put the safety of the school in danger because we thought less of a bratty teenager." He stormed off to the dungeons to make another search, leaving Edward a bit baffled behind.

"What a great personality," Edward muttered to himself. "Oh Edward, you had a sketchy alibi so let's put all the blame on you, even though you still have no clue who this person is they are chasing after!" Edward mocked him. "Clear logic!" Edward stormed off to the Entrance of the Hall to stand guard the rest of the night. He still believed that Severus was a good person and still his friend, but his notions are way out of whack.

_ "what is automail?" _Harry thought quietly to himself. He was not asleep in the least bit.


	9. Werewolf of Things

**Hey here is another chapter. please tell me if there is anything wrong with it, especially near the end because I had to make quick changes before it was posted. Thank you for all the reviews I would like to say that I do make a few mistakes with facts and if you write them in a review I thank you. I will take all adjustments into account... within reasonable measure... and I will make admendments where needed only when the story is completely finished. i thank all o f you for any review you have given. I accept reviews off all type.**

CHAPTER 9

Werewolf of a Thing

Edward was completely miserable the next few days. The weather had finally changed for the worse as the clouds seemed to become permanently grey and the ground was flooded with rain. With the rain making his automail go haywire, Edward was forced to take refuge in the hospital wing nearly every meal time to get some pain relievers and new climate control spells. It was no fun.

Edward was sent to Profesor McGonagall's office late one morning to drop off some late forms that she needed. When he got there it seemed that there was already someone in there talking. When he walked in, of course it was Harry. He looked in absolute distress and whatever he was arguing about, it seemed that Minivera was not budging unless a logical answer would appear out of nowhere. It did the instant he stepped through the door.

"But Professor I need to practice! We have the first match on Saturday!" Harry complained.

"No buts Mr. Potter. It isn't safe for-" Minivera paused when she heard a knocking on the wall. They didn't seem to realize Edward was there so he decided to make himself known.

"I have your forms Minivera," Edward announced as he marched over to her desk and plopped them down in her box. She was a little startled by his sudden appearance, but she quickly thanked him. As it seemed that she had nothing else to say, Edward turned around to leave. He had better things to do than to stand in an office all day. When he got to the door, Minivera of course called out to stop him.

"Edward, have you ever seen a quidditch match before?" Minivera asked him suspiciously. He turned around and shook his head.

"No but Irma threw some quidditch books at my head in the library last Wednesday and I got to pick some of them up," Edward said. Minivera looked a bit baffled at his statement probably not knowing his painful relationship with the librarian but she brushed it off.

"Well, I guess it is settled. Harry you will be allowed to play in the evening practices as long as Mr. Elric is out on the field with you and overseeing everything," she said. Harry looked like he was just saved from his intimate death, but Edward felt like he was thrown right into his.

"WHAT?" he exclaimed a bit furious as he marched back up to the center of the classroom. "I can't do that, not in this weather! Do you know how much pain I have been in already? I am not even outside yet!" McGonagall looked a little taken aback but still held her complexion.

"Yes Edward we are all well aware of your problems in the weather, but Madam Hooch is on a business trip this week and won't be able to do it."

"Then ask someone else to do it! I can't go outside! I nearly breakdown when I have to walk across the bridge to my classroom!" Edward exclaimed but Minivera held up her hand to silence him.

"All the other teachers are busy preparing for exams, as I heard you gave yours out already which means any project from there on will be easier than what any of us have to do. So since you are the only one eligible for the night practices I will have you supervise them. I do apologize for putting you through this with your surgery and all but I can't have Harry here going outside the castle at night with Black on the loose," Minivera said nearly scolding him. Edward grumbled a few obscenities to himself and then stormed out of the office with Harry tailing.

"Thanks a lot," Edward mumbled to him. Harry rolled his eyes a bit. Even though Edward was a teacher, he can still act like an arrogant teenager. A bolt of lightning flashed through the hall and the thunder rattled the old window panes. Edward gave a sigh and started to massage his shoulder.

"Are you feeling alright Professor?" Harry asked innocently, but he just got a menacing glare in return.

"Peachy," Edward retorted. Ever since the rain started, Edward had begun looking and feeling a lot more like Remus did on his bad days. He was in such pain now a days that he didn't care to straighten his clothes before he put them on making them look all wrinkled and instead of taking the time to braid his hair, he would just throw it up in a ponytail, which it was now, or leave it down. He had become a walking wreck and it was all due to the blasted Mother Nature.

….

Edward was feeling extremely lousy the next day. He didn't get up until late in the afternoon which meant that he missed half of his classes including the third years. Not bothering to do anything with his complexion, Edward grabbed a few ragged clothes and ran down to his next class. Since he already missed his third year class, which meant the next one was the Fifth years with the Weasly twins. Mustang made sure to throw a few nasty words at him as he stumbled through his chamber portrait hole. On his way through the Defense Against the Dark Arts tower to his classroom, he managed to notice that Snape was for some reason teaching Lupins class. He heard the bitter voice rattling through the entire Armoury. With the bad temper that Severus has been in lately it seemed that even the metal suits were trembling in fear. Edward didn't blame him though, it seemed everyone was grouchy in this weather, Edward was just the worst off.

…

"Anyone know the answer?" Snape sneered at the class. He was forcing them all to learn about a chapter they never even touched on; werewolved. It seemed like he really had it in for them. Hermione of course knew all the answers but he wasn't even attempting to glance at her let alone let her say anything. When he asked a question for the sixth time, she begged to be able to say the answer but Snape burst. "I don't care what you have to say. We don't need another inconceivable know it all in this class!"

Hermione was about put to tears when they heard a giant explosion from down the hall. Smoke started to fill the hallways and Edward came tumbling in covered with soot and smoking. His golden eyes stood out under all the ash and dust that they seemed to look like they were on fire themselves. Edward gave an exhausted cough sending a little puff of smoke in the air.

"Snape, we need you in the Nurses office. Fred combusted his Berilium too fast and it exploded," Edward panted. He caught sight of Ron who was nearly breaking down in his chair. "Don't worry, only a second degree burn," he tried reassuring him but Ron nearly went into a panic over his brother.

"I assume that your class has already been let out," Severus said almost surprised. It looked like he wasn't expecting Edward to be there, or even running a class that day. He recovered through and started to walk out the door. "Class you owe me two lengths of parchment on werewolves by Monday. Edward stay here and make sure they don't blow anything up while I am gone," Snape scoffed at them and left the room. The instant the door closed the room went into chaos. Some people cheered that the menace was gone, and others started to complain about the load of work they had to do. Hermione was the only one who was wise enough to start on her work then and there. Edward walked to the front of the class and sat in a chair near the front of the projector. He massaged his knee a little bit.

"Okay…." He said a little awkwardly. "What is this class about?" A few people snickered at him and others went into complete astonishment. Hermione just kept writing.

"Sir, we learn how to defend ourselves against the dark arts… it's in the title," Harry said to him a little flatly.

"Well, I know that!" Edward exclaimed and the entire class was sent quiet, strangely quiet. Edward gave a groan. "Alright, how many points did he take off already?"

"Twenty and a detention for Ron," Neville said.

"All right," Edward said thinking a bit. "Ron, you can serve detention with me." His face adorned a smile, but Edward quickly wiped it off. "Don't think it is going to be easy, I might have you chopping more wood." His smile was gone.

"So who can tell me…" Edward said flipping through the DADA text book that was lying open on the desk in front of him, "What is a Grindylow?" A bunch of students raised their hands and Edward picked on one of them in the back.

"It is known as the water devil and it likes to hide in water weeds and grasses. When they are approached by anything, they lash out with their strong fingers," they answered.

"Correct, five points to Gryffindor," Edward said skimming the passage about the creature. The class went on the same until Edward had returned almost all of the lost points back to the house. Being completely bored and still with another half hour of class to go, Edward taught them how to fold origami hats. Nearly the entire class was donned a hat except Hermione who was suspiciously glancing at Edward every once in a while as she wrote her paper. Since that only lasted a few minutes, Edward, wearing his paper samari hat and still completely covered in soot, started to tell a few stories about when he and Al were training with his teacher. He did this in an attempt to make Severus not look as bad as he did to the students. It only slightly worked. Throughout the class period however, Edward would always take a few moments to massage his arm and leg. Hermione looked up once in a while as he did so, but said nothing, nor made an origami hat. When class was over, Edward still reminded everyone that the essay was still due but the students left the class still feeling better than when they had first walked in.

Hermione was still in the classroom when everyone left as she tried to cram all of her books into her tiny bag. When she stood up however, the bag collapsed and snapped under all the weight. Edward watched the girl pitifully pick up her thousands of books that were sprawled across the floor.

"You seriously need to think about taking less classes he said as he walked over to her and picked up a couple of texts. She looked up at him a bit judgingly and then snatched the book from him. She held at least ten text books in her arms which rose up underneath her chin. Edward took her broken bag off of the floor and transmuted it back to normal and a little sturdier than it was before. She silently started to stuff her things back in not even looking him in the eye. He let out a sigh. "What's wrong?" he asked her. She stayed quiet though and continued to strategically place her books in her bag.

"Come on," Edward pushed. "There isn't a day where you won't stop talking about something and now you are completely silent. What's up?" She turned on him faster than a jackrabbit.

"Snape is trying to push you and Lupin into revealing the truth!" she said really fast as if it was a death wish to say anything at all. Edward was a little taken aback and confused.

"What do you mean?" Edward asked silently wishing that she wouldn't say automail. Her eyes filled with tears like she was going to be hung for her crimes against humanity.

"That you are different from the rest of us!" she exclaimed and then raced out of the classroom leaving a befuddled Elric aside. He stood there for a while a bit frightened about what she meant. Did she figure out he had automail? Did she figure out where he got it? Did she figure out what he was searching for? More importantly Snape knew, that was more than what he was searching for in his attempt to find him guilty. Edward went into complete panic mode.

…

That night, Edward had to miss dinner to be out on the quidditch field for the evening practice which meant that he couldn't find out what Severus knew about him. The house elves were kind enough to give him and the team a few large plates full of sandwiches and jugs of pumpkin juice. Edward sat in the middle of the field soaking wet and covered with mud. The Gryffindor team was flying around above him hitting bludgers, catching golf balls (practice for the seeker), and throwing the quaffle back and forth. Fred and George tried to pester him at times to get on a broomstick and fly with them, but there was no way in hell that he was getting on a broom and flying around in that storm. Even if it was a sunny day, there was no way he was going to get on a broomstick anyway.

After a few hours of being completely miserable, the team at a couple of sandwiches and drank a load of juice in the Quidditch tower before heading back to their dorm rooms. Edward was due for a good long shower with _warm_ water, and then a nights rest, but of course he couldn't have just one luxury. As he was walking up to the Gunhila Grosmore Corridor, his automail gave out on him. He collapsed to the floor in front of the one eyed witch statue and smacked his face off of the ground.

"Damn it," he moaned as he tried to fix his leg and rub his aching face at the same time. He needed oil and fast. After hitting his knee a few times he got it back into a somewhat working order and searched the castle for all of its supply closets and storage rooms. He raided all of the supply closets he knew of in the castle from the seventh floor on down to the dungeons and he found not a single bottle of oil in them. While raiding the Dungeon's cupboard Edward nearly ran into Severus who seemed to be refilling the student's potion's stores.

"What are you doing here?" Snape hissed at him. It was obvious that he was still in a bad mood and Edward sneaking around the castle at night seemed to be making him worse off.

"I was wondering if you had any oil around anywhere. My automail really needs some matinence and I couldn't find any," Edward asked. Snape gave out a huff.

"Why wouldn't you bring your own oil, Elric. If you are in such dire need of it you should have been prepared when you came here," he scoffed. Edward was losing his patients with this man. He could be a jerk all he wants, but not now.

"I _would _have brought some if I had enough _time_ to. When I got my mission from the Fuhrer to come here, it was completely last minute. I barely had time to pack my clothes let alone worry about automail oil. I couldn't even say good bye to my brother before I left!" Edward scolded him. "I could have picked up some oil in London, but they ran out of it in the hardware store because it seemed like your blasted country has an oil crisis now! I could have bout car oil and transmuted it into proper automail oil but when your weather is like this!" he said motioning to nothing, "the certain compounds would clog up and junk my joints!" Severus didn't say anything and continued to ignore him. Edward gave an irritated groan and stormed out of the store room. He only made it as far as the door before his leg gave out on him again. He let out a string of curses before his face hit the floor again. As Edward continued to mutter under his breath, Severus let out a silent sigh of his own. Severus didn't know why he did it, but he did it. As Edward attempted to regain movement in his leg, Snape walked over to him and pulled him to his feet propping the lopsided boy up under his arm.

"The oil is in the Potion's basement," Severus muttered as he helped the boy down through the dungeon's corridor. When they reached the room, Snape let Edward go, a little clumsily so that Edward fell to the floor, and went through the trapdoor into the cellar. He reemerged with a couple small oiling cans. "We originally use these to oil the clocks in the tower. I think that it will suffice," He said tartly and handed Edward the cans to carry as he helped him to his office only a few doors away. Edward clamber up to a table and sat on top of it. Snape watched him as he started to drop some of the oil onto his joints and rub it around to get them working a bit better.

"Tonight is a full moon," Severus noted. Edward didn't look at him but nodded his head in acknowledgement. He took off his jacket and started to oil his arm.

"Yes I guess it is," Edward mumbled. The potions teacher became a little agitated.

"Why do you have golden eyes Elric?" Severus asked him strictly. Edward was a little confused but didn't decline the weird man an answer.

"My father had them, so like my younger brother, I was born with them," he said and swung his arm around feeling the full rotation again. "Why?" he asked when he was fully satisfied with his arm.

"Yellow eyes is a common sign of a disease called Lycanthropy. When you started to look sick with in these weeks and then missed your morning classes this morning, the faculty including me, thought you might have been infected by it," Severus informed him. Edward took a moment to register the information. Was this what Hermione was talking about earlier?

"So you think that I am infected with some sort of rare disease, and you didn't do anything about it?" Edward asked him.

"Yes we did," Severus snapped back. "That potion you have been drinking, the one that I graciously made for you and Remus, is the only known medicine that can get rid of the disease's threat. It doesn't harm normal beings that take it so like Poppy was telling you this was a necessary precaution. However, it looks like you won't need to take it after all."

"So that is what that was," Edward muttered to himself. Severus rolled his eyes at the kid. "Is this dangerous?" Edward asked as he put his jacket back on and picked up the extra bottles of oil.

"If you want to know more about it, Edward, there are such things called books," Severus said leading him out of the classroom. When they got to the entrance hall, Edward turned to thank him for his help.

"Don't think that this changes anything Elric, I am still onto you. Even though you don't have the disease, I still won't have anyone like you posing a threat to the school," he snorted at him and disappeared down to the dungeons where they had once emerged. Edward walked back up to the third floor remembering what the potions master had said. It did change everything, unlike Severus believed. It meant that he wasn't fully suspicious of him after all. Why would he help a murderer's minion fix his legs? But Severus still didn't trust him.

…..

The week was filled with long and torturing evening practices with the Gryffindors. It seemed that the days were getting worse for Edward as the rain kept pouring through the school. The Gryffindor team seemed to notice that he was grumpy and in pain so they attempted to help him out a little bit. They set up a couple of umbrellas in a fashion that formed a small tent for Edward to sit in, since he didn't have an umbrella of his own, and they had the house elves bring him hot cocoa during the practices to warm him up. He was grateful for these offers and attempted to repay them by helping throw the golf balls in the air for Harry to catch.

Saturday came sooner than expected and everyone was excited for the quidditch meet, but Edward that is. Madam Hooch was still out of town and wouldn't be able to referee for the job. Of course, McGonagall picked him to do it in spite of his lack of knowledge of the sport. All of the rest of the teachers were cozily snuggled up in the stands with climate control spells around them while Edward stood on the quidditch field with a crappy broomstick already soaking wet. As the two teams started to circle around him to start the game, Edward managed to give McGonagall a nice glare before they began. He seems to be her favorite when it comes to work. Edward blew the whistle and started off the match between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. As the teams started to fly around Edward hopped on his broomstick and slowly but surely, left the ground. The rain pelted his face as he tried to get a good view of the game. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the sport besides a few elbow jabs and broom kicks that he saw going around. That was normal right? He only blew the whistle once when Oliver Wood declared a times. The entire field landed at the middle of the field pitch.

"Professor, we need to get Harry's glasses fixed he can't see anything in the rain," Oliver announced as he tried to drag the boy off of the field. Some of the Hufflepuffs muttered to each other about this but Diggory calmed them down and said it was just being fair. Wanting to get the match finished as soon as possible, Edward didn't wait for Harry to find a wizard to fix his glasses, he just stole them off his face. Harry put up a little protest but stopped after Edward transmuted the lenses for him.

"There," he said slapping them back on the kid's face a little too forcefully. "Their polar hydrophobic, now let us get this match over with!" He blew the whistle and the game began. It was going smoothly even though the weather worsened. Thunder could be heard rolling in the distance and the rain became almost impenetrable. Harry bolted past Edward so fast that he nearly fell of his broom. He saw the snitch. Edward watched him chase around a small golden ball, but froze when the air around him seemed to turn. His automail ports began to scream as the air temperature turned into that recognizable cold feeling. Harry was flying through the air straight above him and he seemed to be noticing it too. He faltered a bit and then surprisingly fell off his broom. He started to plummet to the ground as gasps and panicked voices could be heard from the crowd. Edward raced towards him as the silent screams in his ears began to grow steadily louder. Edward managed to catch Harry but the mere weight of the boy was too much for his broom and he slipped off as well. Five stories, four stories, three stories they were falling. Edward grabbed hold of the boy tightly as he felt his own vision start to fade as they went plummeting to the ground. He managed to clap his hands together and point them towards the earth.

"Newton, don't fail me now," he gasped as a blast of light seemed to stop their falling for a mere second. Edward passed out with his brother's screams in his ear as the fell the rest hundred feet down to earth.

….

"ALPHONSE!" Edward screamed as he jolted awake. He scrambled to get up and about but he felt lopsided and fell off of what seemed to be a bed. Memories returned to him in a flash. He remembered seeing a giant vortex of ghosts near the quidditch pitch as he and Harry were falling to the ground. After a second thought, Edward guessed that those were probably the dementors. Edward was still panting and sweating after his little fright. He attempted to get up off the floor but he fell back down, his face hitting the cool tile. Edward glanced around at his automail, it was bend at odd angles in some places. The elbow joint was completely crushed which meant that everything below that was completely useless.

_'dear God,' _Edward thought to himself, '_I broke it.'_ He tried to move it around but all he could do was lift his shoulder a bit. The elbow joint was completely smashed from the collision with the ground. His face blanched. All Edward could think of was how big that wrench was going to be when Winry found out.

Poppy came streaking into the room after she heard the scream, carrying a large breakfast tray. There was what seemed to be a curtain sectioning off his bed from the rest in the hospital. The nurse set down the platter and Poppy struggled to pick him up off the ground and place him on his bed again. Edward realized that his drenched clothes from the prior evening were swapped out for what seemed like white hospital pajamas. He turned a little red as the nurse studied him for any extra injuries, thinking of how he managed to get into these clothes in the first place. Dear god, what did she see?

"How is everything Edward? You had a nasty fall there, I am surprised that you are still intact as much as you are," she said to him and set the tray down. It took him a while to realize that she wasn't talking about when he fell from the bed.

"I am not as intact as you might think," Edward mumbled tiredly trying to shift his body around to a more comfortable position. "My automail is busted." Poppy looked down at his arm an saw the bent metal. She picked it up and studied it a little bit.

"Oh, dear," she muttered to herself. "I am sorry but I can't fix it like this. The repairing charm cannot be used on live people," she said still studying his arm a bit more. "I am afraid that if I use it on your arm, though it is metal, it might counteract and work on you as well."

"What if I take it off?" Edward asked her hopingly. He would do anything to avoid a wrench. Poppy glanced around the arm a bit more and muttered to herself.

"Not with this," she said pointing to the wires in his automail. "if it were just to be a plate, I can do it, but with the wires the spell might fix them wrong without proper knowledge and well…" She hesitated but Edward knew exactly what she meant. If the wires weren't connected correctly, he was going to be in a lot of pain when they put that thing back on, even more than usual. Edward gave out a little moan. What was he supposed to do? Walk around the school with a busted automail arm hanging about everywhere until his mechanic could arrive? Luckily Poppy, brought a sling and some bandages for him.

"Here," she said as she started to wrap the metal with the gauze. "We will make it look like a broken arm until your mechanic arrives. You will still be down an arm, but at least you won't have to worry about it being shown," she said. Edward nodded and tried to help her wrap his arm up. Just then he heard a stirring coming from the bed beside him. He couldn't see through the curtain but would have bet a nickel that it was Harry. Before Madam Promfery left, he asked her to fetch Scops from his classroom so that he could send a letter to his mechanic. After she left, Edward finished wrapping his arm and then turned to his pitiful breakfast. It was chocolate as far as the eye could see. There was chocolate pancakes, chocolate syrup, chocolate biscotti toast, and to top it all off… chocolate milk. Edward glared at it menacingly. He didn't care how much chocolate that lady would have fed him, he was not drinking _that._


	10. Rocks and Passages

**Hey ya'll thankyou for all of your great reviews! As i said before, I will fix problems after I finish the story. This chapter was a little slower than all the rest because I am unfortunately back at school and have a schedule to keep. I will be continuing the story so have no fear, but my updates won't be as frequent as they were in the beggining. Now thankyou again for your lovely reviews and I just wanted to say... I had to do it. At the end of the chapter I just had to do it. NO PAIRINGS! just I had to do it. :) Anyway, with that said... I hope you enjoy!**

CHAPTER 10

Rocks and Passages

"What are you doing?" Harry asked Edward as it looked like he was lunging across the infirmary floor. They were ordered by Madam Promfery to stay in the hospital wing for one full day of rehabilitation. All it was, was an entire day of rest, chocolate, and pick me up shots, which Harry found out Edward really didn't like when he nearly tackled him to the ground trying to get away from the nurse. For a kid with a broken arm, Edward can run. Harry was ordered to stay in bed the entire time, but for some reason she let Edward go about the floor doing what seemed like exercises and stretching.

"Nothing, just making sure that everything works alright," Edward said as he propped his left foot onto his bed and started to stretch it out. He was actually testing his automail to see if it worked correctly. Since he found out that his right one was busted, he was making sure that his leg was still in proper condition. It was a little scratched up but after he took out a chunk of grass from the knee joint it worked like a charm. At least he didn't have to worry about Harry seeing his automail because his arm was bound up and Poppy allowed him to put on a pair of clean clothes to cover the other. As Harry watched Edward stretch out, a little green since he was able to get up and about but not him, Madam Promfery entered carrying a large fluffy hat and some parchment paper.

"He wouldn't want to leave the hat so I just brought it along," Poppy said to Edward as she handed him the materials. Scops was glaring drowsily at him as it tried to sleep in the comfort of the hat. Edward scattered his things down on the floor and started to write a letter to Winry and Al. Harry was watching him as he wrote, but Edward couldn't really do anything about it but give him a few glares. He did only have one arm anyways. Luckily the message was of course entirely in Amestrian so it wasn't like Harry was reading anything of value. As Edward wrote the best formal letter to his mechanic about his situation, he couldn't help but feel a little worried. He didn't hear anything from them since he got there. He knew that Winry was probably working in Rush Valley and busy with automail, and Al was still searching for the stone, but they would have sent him a reply by now. It was just strange to not hear from them at all. Mustang replied to him constantly with new letters updating him on his mission, but like he really cared about that bastard. It was Al he was worried about. As Edward lay sprawled on the floor to write the letter, the doors to the infirmary opened and several students hurried through.

"Harry, are you alright? We have been so worried!" Hermione panicked as she threw a hug around the kid nearly strangling him to death. Fred and George set down a basket of chocolate at the foot of his bed.

"How did the match go?" Harry asked finally regaining his breath from the suffocating hug. He had no concern over his own health, Edward nearly laughed at this. Fred and George gave the chuckling blonde a weird look but turned back to Harry in a not so happy manner like they usually were in.

"We are sorry Harry, we were crushed," Fred said.

"Diggory caught the snitch a few moments after you hit the ground," George added.

"When he found out, he was furious."

"Wanted a rematch but nothing could be done."

"We can still win the cup this year though right?" Harry asked them hopefully. "I mean it isn't a complete loss." Fred and George discussed the pairings and game strategies to each other and Harry, but all in all Edward could tell that luck would have to be on their side, and a lot of it. Harry was a little down trodden by his complete defeat even though his friends kept reassuring him that it wasn't his fault.

"Did someone grab my Nimbus from the field before we left?" Harry asked. His friends gave a few awkward and silent shuffles. He waited expectantly for the answer, but a feeling of dread filled Harry's stomach.

"Oh, Harry! After you fell off your broomstick flew away!" Hermione gasped.

"Yeah, and well, it flew into the willow and, you know how it doesn't like to be hit, so…." Ron said as he unwrapped a lumpy parcel he was carrying. The once beautiful broomstick was laid splintered to bits in the blanket. It was a lost cause. The handle was frayed and bent at terrible angles and the straw tail was flattened and mangled like a bird tried to nest in it. Edward felt a bit of pity for Harry losing his broom, but it wasn't the end of the world, he was bound to get another at some point. The kid could have cried, but he held firm and took the remains of his broom. After the Weasly twins tried to make him feel better with a story about them dungbombing Filch's office, they left the three friends mingle amongst themselves. Harry was in complete distress.

"I could have been worse Harry," Ron said, "You fell nearly seven stories, you are lucky to have come out the way you did."

"Dumbledore is absolutely furious that the dementors entered the school grounds like that," Hermione said. "After he brought you and Edward back here he made his way to the Ministry of Magic to tell them about it." She glanced over at Edward who had finished his letter and was packing it in the envelope. She was still a little nervous around him ever since the DADA class they had. Harry and Ron thought that she was acting a bit weird, but they weren't the wiser. Edward got up and pushed Scops out the window with his letter. The reluctant bird pecked him a few times on the noggin but after a death glare from Edward, it flew away.

"Professor, why don't you get that arm fixed? Madam Promfery can fix it in a jiffy with one of her spells," Ron asked him as he finally got a look at Edward's condition.

"I trust that my arm can heal on its own. I am having a friend come by and look at it later to make sure it is okay," Edward said to them. He sat down in a chair next to Harry's bed. "That fall really busted me up a lot more than you did. Lucky I tried to catch you or else you might have ended up like me," he chuckled motioning to his arm. "That wouldn't be good for the next quidditch meet."

"How did you save me? All I remember is falling off of my broom," Harry asked him. Ron and Hermione looked curious as well.

"Yeah, there was this flash of light then you seemed to stop for a second," Ron noted. Edward gave a nod.

"Newton's third law of motion states, a force applied on an object has an equal and opposite reaction," Edward informed them. He already taught basic physics to them but now he needed to apply it. "Seeing as I don't have any wings to fly, I decided to use that in order to slow down our accelerating speed by using the kick back of a minor explosion." He glanced around at their confused faces. In annoyance, Edward massaged his face in his hands. "I made the air go boom so we didn't go splat," he said a bit mockingly. They seemed to just brush the fact off to the side. What Edward didn't tell him was that before he went unconscious, he managed to flip Harry around so that his own body was going to take the impact of the ground rather than the young boy's. That was probably how his automail got trashed.

"Thank you very much for that," Harry said quietly. Hermione shifted around nervously but Edward glared at her. He couldn't handle this right now.

"Hermione, can you please come to my office later tomorrow?" he asked tiredly. All he got back from her was a nervous nod and then she dashed out of the room. Ron and Harry gave him an awkward look, Edward just shrugged. "Oh, and Weasly, don't forget you got detention with me tomorrow as well," he added. Ron groaned as he was just reminded of his owed torture.

The two friends talked awhile until Madam Promfery had to kick Ron out. He struggled and argued a bit to stay with the kid, but Poppy, being so persistent and overly threatening, managed to boot him from the ward and leave the two infirm residents to their own devices. After the place was quiet for a moment or so, Harry leaned down to his basket of chocolates that the Weaslys gave him. It was too much. With all of the chocolate that the nurse was feeding thme, he knew that he couldn't possibly eat all of it or he might just die of chocolate fever. He ripped it open and grabbed a couple packs of chocolate frogs and tossed them to Elric in order to make his load a bit lighter. Edward caught them awkwardly.

"What are these?" he asked suspiciously checking the box for any tricks or spells. If the Weaslys gave it to him, one could never be too sure.

"They are chocolate frogs. They have an enchantment on them that make them move so I would watch out when opening them," Harry advised. Edward thanked him and placed the boxes in his coat pocket. Later would seem like a better time. He was sick of brown. Poppy came back into the room and ordered Edward back into his bed, saying that the floor was nowhere for an injured person to be. He complied and was put back under the covers. The screen had been taken town between the beds since his auto mail was covered up and protected. Harry still looked unsettled by something but he didn't push it. After all, the kid just recently faced his worst nightmare.

Edward and Harry were let out of hospital the next day and they were both grateful to be free once more. Harry was still upset about his broomstick but Edward had more classes to teach so he didn't have time to pity him, like he would actually do that anyway. He walked up to the third floor to get to his classroom, his right arm swinging alongside him in a false sling. Some of his pictures murmured back and forth, but Edward ignored them. They all seemed to be gossiping bastards. When he passed his chamber portrait, Winry looked absolutely pissed. He had a nasty pit in his stomach.

His classes were particulary difficult for him to handle since his arm was basically bound to his chest but it wasn't anything that he couldn't handle. He did go a year without an arm or a leg anyways so though it was harder than it should have been, Edward was still able to keep a hold of his class. Many of the students worried about him and offered to help him with handing out papers. Though it was foolish, he refused. No one was going to pity him just because he didn't have an arm. After fumbling papers, breaking chalk, and knocking over a pile of books, he made it through last period without any serious problems.

He hated to return to the hospital wing right after he got released from it but his climate control spells needed to be renewed, even on his busted arm. Poppy was glad to see him and along with protecting his auto mail, she gave him an extra thirteen checkups as well.

"You can never be too careful with those dementors about," she said. After everything was fixed, Poppy gave him a goblet to be delivered to Lupin. It was filled with the same bubbling grey liquid that they were taking every day for the last month. Edward was glad to hear that the man was feeling better, but he was even more excited about the fact that he didn't have to drink it anymore. As it turned out, the rest of the faculty caught on that he was not infected with the strange disease and didn't need to be treated for it. Poppy did apologize for making him take the nasty potion, but he didn't put it past her. It was just a precaution after all.

Edward knocked on the door to Lupin's office and then heard a shuffling. He entered to find that Lupin was nearly falling asleep on his desk. The man looked terribly ill and his clothes were tattered at the hems and wrinkled all over his body. Huge deep bags were set under his eyes as if he was planning on carrying luggage in them. Edward slowly set the goblet down on the table for him.

"I am glad to see that you are back to your classes, but you don't look too well," Edward said to him cautiously. Lupin just gave a tired nod.

"Like I said, it comes and goes," he mumbled as he tipped the goblet back and emptied the contents. Edward couldn't help but shiver, he knew how cold it was. Lupin eyed him for a second and pointed drowsily at his arm. "I could say the same to you. Why don't you get that fixed?" Lupin asked him quietly.

"This is my automail arm. Poppy said that mending spells wouldn't work on it. I sent a letter to my mechanic, but she didn't reply yet. It seems like none of my letters are getting through for some reason," Edward mumbled. Lupin gave a shrug and set the empty goblet back down. Edward studied his tired face again and remembered what Severus said the prior week. He drank that as a precaution, did Lupin too? Before he could ask however, Harry came walking through the door.

"Professor, you wanted to see me?" Harry asked and sat down not taking a second glance at Edward. Lupin gave a weary nod.

"Ah, yes. It is actually a good thing that Edward was here to wake me up or else I might have been half asleep," Lupin said merrily. The man still looked completely out of it but his attitude took an entire turn around. "I just wanted to talk to you about the match the other day. I heard about your broomstick, I am so sorry for your loss," he said like he was talking in a funeral. Edward was a little weirded out at how attached people got to their broomsticks. Harry glanced up at Remus.

"Why do dementors affect me so much? Everyone else just seems to get cold, I am the only one who faints when they come near me."

"Hey! I faint too!" Edward retorted to the young boy. He looked over in surprise. "I might have fallen a couple stories but that's not enough to knock me out!" Remus laughed as Edward crossed his arms in defiance to the younger confused boy.

"Yes Edward, we all know how you're tough from the military," Remus chuckled a bit. "Dementors are probably one of the world's most cruel and terrible creatures," Remus added. Edward gave a little scoff, but they ignored his obnoxious tendencies. "They seem to feast off of the emotions of others and leave the being only with their worst, and most terrifying experiences. While everyone else only feels a state of depression, you two on the other hand are overwhelmed with these emotions and shut down. This is because you seem to have memories that you wish not to renter. No one blames you for passing out Harry," Lupin patted his shoulder. "Your terrifying memories are just worse than a normal being." Harry sat there for a little while thinking about things, but Edward shifted around nervously in his chair. He couldn't even drag himself to remember the terrifying events of his past, the dementors however could force the memory to torture you. The fact that creatures like this exist was unbelievable, but they are currently living right outside of their door. Edward was slightly terrified.

"C-could the dementors, um, leave any permanent damage or anything like that?" Edward asked Remus unsteadily. "I mean if the effects go away with chocolate does that mean that they can be avoided?" The teacher steadily shook his head.

"No, the dementors are powerful creatures and with enough effort and memories, they can torture their victims and drive them to the point of insanity. That is why they are at the prison Azkaban. They drive the prisoners mad and drain their power so that they cannot escape. Dementors are creatures that cannot be driven away with mere force," Lupin warned him.

"I'm screwed," Edward whispered to himself. If this ever happened again, he was completely and utterly screwed. His fighting technique resolved completely around force, unless will power counted for anything, but he was guessing it didn't.

"But Professor, Serious Black, he escaped from Azkaban, how was that possible?" Harry asked him. He looked a little frightened as a pile of books fell off the desk, but when Lupin returned from picking them up it resolved.

"Harry, Black somehow escaped because he found a way to keep the dementors from completely torturing him. It would seem that there are ways of blocking out the effects, but he was the only known person to do so," Remus informed him.

"How?" Edward asked hopefully, but the man just shrugged.

"If they figured that out there would be many more criminals out and about today now would there? However, there are other methods used like the Patronus charm. It is the only known thing that will chase the Dementors away or keep them at bay," Remus said. He took one look at the interested Harry and nodded his head. "Yes Harry, that is what I did on the train ride."

"Could you teach me?" Harry busted out. This nearly took Remus by surprise and he was a little taken aback.

"Teach you? Harry this isn't a simple charm or spell, this is highly advanced magic," Remus warned him, but they boy was not moved. He was even more eager than ever.

"But if I learn how to do it then I wouldn't have to worry about it in the next quidditch match. I would be able to defend myself! If I learned how to do the Patronus then… then…" Harry stuttered for a moment then fell silent. Edward looked over at the troubled boy. He knew that type of silence like it was the back of his hand. He basically owned it. Harry was troubled by something deep. After a moments pause, Remus got a little bit worried.

"What is it Harry?" he asked the boy. It looked like he was debating on answering the man. This act was all too familiar for Edward to handle.

"Just tell him boy," Edward mumbled. "We all have had those moments just tell him." Harry looked frightened at Edward, probably thinking up questions about their terrible moments. It was true though. Everyone, even the happiest man in the world has had moments in their life that they wish not to repeat again, that they wish that they could change.

"Then, then I wouldn't have to hear the death of my mother again," Harry mumbled silently to the two teachers. All went silent in the room.

"Harry, is that what the Dementors make you remember?" Remus asked him. Harry gave a pitiful nod, but didn't look him in the eye as if he was a shamed of the memory. Lupin gave out a long sigh and massaged his tired face. "Fine, I will teach you the charm after Christmas break, but don't think that this will be easy for you," Remus added. Harry's face lit up. He was finally going to be able to defend himself against these things. Edward was kind of jealous of the magic user. The kid would be learning how to defend himself, while he was at the mercy of the beast. After a moment that Harry took to rejoice his acceptance, the kid quieted down and then turned on Edward. He probably should have guessed this was coming, but he still wasn't prepared for it.

"Professor, what-what do you hear when the dementors…. Yah know," he asked quietly. Edward's mind flashed back to their basement back in Resembool. Al's terrible cries came back to his ears only for a second, but he quickly hushed the noise and returned to his surroundings. The boy was still awaiting an answer, and so was Remus who looked just as interested.

"I hear my brother screaming," Edward said softly. Harry and Remus looked at each other for a second.

"I thought your brother was still alive?" Harry asked stupidly. Edward got up from his chair and glared sadly down at the boy.

"One doesn't have to be dead to feel pain," he answered stonily. Harry felt dread wash over him.

…..

Edward sat studying in his office awaiting the arrival of his late night students. He was again trying to find information on the stone, but he just couldn't find anything. It seemed like all of the books where useless in this school unless on the topic of magic. As Edward flipped through a couple more pages, Hermione Granger entered his room quietly.

"Professor?" she announced herself stiffly. Edward looked up from his hopeless attempt to squeeze information out of that text and set down his pen. Hermione still looked on edge around him and that was why he called her there.

"I just wanted to talk to you privately," Edward said and propped his feet casually up on the desk. Scops laid awake on the corner of his desk pecking at a couple papers he had laying out. "What you said in class a few days ago was an alright assumption, but I would like to claim it false. The teachers had suspicions too, but they finally figured out that I wasn't as they claimed to be infected with this disease." Hermione seemed a little taken aback. It wasn't the first time she had been wrong, but there probably hasn't been that many occurances. She stuttered for a bit.

"But what about your eye colour, and the Wolfbane potion that you have been taking, and you looked terribly sick the week of the full moon, and-" Edward held his hand up to shut her up.

"It might come as a surprise to you as it did the rest of the faculty, but my eye colour is natural. I inherited it from my bastard of a father. Only Dumbledore knew this, but I still was forced to take the potion as a precaution. As I have heard, it is a uninheritable effect of the disease that Snape told me about," he informed her.

"Snape told you?" she asked completely astonished. Edward nodded at her.

"Yes, we confronted each other a few days ago and he explained most of it," her replied. Scops stopped pecking at his work and flew up on his shoe and perched there. "The reason why I was sick that week was because of the nasty weather that was about. It does terrible things to previous injuries that I had and I was feeling terrible. You could expect that someone in the military wouldn't come out a little unscathed. The weather brings about some pain when the barometer drops," he said calmly. Hermione just gave an understanding nod. She seemed to be regaining her confidence a little bit even though her 'always right' spirit dropped.

"So does that mean that Lupin isn't one as well?" she asked suspiciously.

"I don't know, but I wouldn't go spreading the word around about it. I have heard that the disease isn't too pleasing or well thought of so we shouldn't go putting that reputation on the man like that. It after all isn't the physical appearance of a being that makes him human," Edward said to her. She pondered this for a minute but was startled when Ron came stumbling into the classroom as if he just ran a mile.

"Ron, you forgot didn't you? Edward said with a malicious grin on his face. Ron panted as he bent over from his run. He couldn't answer. "Well, what should I do with you?" Edward asked himself evilly just to torment the kid. "Ah! I got it! Let's go and clean the armoury. They are all due for a good scrub," Edward laughed and dragged the red head away. Hermione stood in the office a little startled from the teacher's turn in attitude. He looked like a kidnapper as he dragged the poor boy away.

…..

Harry sadly waved good bye to Ron and Hermione as they boarded the carriages for Hogsmede. He was left behind once again on one of those trips and this time it was even the weekend before Christmas. What he would do to be able to get outside of this castle. Ever since the incidents of the past few months, the teachers have been keeping a stern eye on him and Edward. Along with Harry, even Edward itched to be able to get out of the castle. He said that he would escape himself if it weren't for the bloody weather.

Harry winded his way through out the castle not thinking anywhere in particular of going he managed to find his way walking down the Gunhilda Goresemore Corridor on the third floor. Realizing that this wasn't an interesting place to be, Harry was about to turn around but Fred and George leapt out from around the corner and snatched him.

"Come on Harry, don't turn around," George said happily kidnapping the poor boy and dragged him down the hall with his brother.

"Yeah, this is exactly where you should be," Fred added.

"If not in Hogsmede of course."

"But that is why you are here!"

"With us!" they both chimed in together. By that point, Harry stopped his struggling and complied with the two muggers and followed them down the corridor. They stopped him in front of a creepy one eyed witch statue which stared down at them with its terrible looking glare. Fred handed the kid a piece of blank parchment and Harry stared down at it with the exact same expression it was giving him.

"How is a blank piece of parchment going to get me to Hogsmeade?" Harry asked stubbornly. The twins just laughed at him like the answer was completely obvious.

"This isn't any normal piece of parchment Harry," Fred laughed at him.

"Yeah, we found it in Filch's cabinet drawer when he was writing us a slip a few years back," George said as if he was completely fond of that memory.

"Yes, it was in a drawer that said do not open."

"And of course being the good heavenly students as we are, we never touched the thing," George said as both of them gave mocking angel faces at him.

"It just some how managed to find its way into our hands while a dungbomb mysteriously blew up."

"And tada! We have gladly been using it for all of these years." The two twins looked at each other for a second as Harry still wore the completely confused expression on his face.

"We would like to show you, the famous Marauder's Map of Hogwarts!" the two pronounced happily throwing out a couple of jazz hands here and there. Harry opened the paper but still found it completely blank.

"What map? It's completely blank!" Harry asked a little annoyed with the two of theirs shenanigans.

"Watch closely my young pupil," George announced happily as he whipped out his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he recited and then tapped the parchment with the tip of his wand. Red ink seemed to flow out of the center of the paper and unfold itself into a perfectly printed blueprint of Hogwarts school. Harry looked amazed at it. A few curvy letters began to write their way across the center of the page.

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, proudly present, the Marauder's Map," Harry said reading the words aloud as they unwound into perfect cursive handwriting.

"A Map?" they three of them heard a voice cry out from up above them. Edward was sitting on top of the large statue trying to fit what looked like a piece of cloth over the wandering eye of Gunhilda Gorsemore. "Where are we going?" he asked the three befuddled teens as they were caught completely unexpected.

"What are you doing up there, Professor?" George finally asked him. Edward hopped down from the statue. He landed with a thwump on the ground, but didn't lose his footing.

"Do you know how creepy that eye is? My chambers are just down the hall and I need to walk by this thing every day! I couldn't stand that thing following me around anymore, so I tried to cover it up," Edward said lifting the red bandana up in defeat. "Of course it would have been easier if I had both of my arms," he added. His own little mission was a defeat.

"So what is this map you were all talking about? No use trying to hide it since I already saw it," Edward said scooting a bit closer to the group with the piece of paper.

"It is the Marauder's map," George said to him after a consulting look at his brother.

"It shows what people are doing, where they are, or where they are going."

"All around the castle itself. Take a peek if you like," the two of them finished. Edward and Harry glanced down at the paper and opened it. There in the Gunhilda Gorsemore Corridor, stood four pairs of footprints labeled; George Fabian Weasley, Fred Prewett Weasley, Harry James Potter, and Major Edward Elric the Fullmetal Alchemist.

"Ha! What type of names are Fabian and Prewett?" Edward started to laugh. George and Fred rolled his eyes.

"They are our uncles'!" George retorted.

"Anyway, I wouldn't be talking, it looks like your body has a glitch to it!" Fred said pointing to where Edward's feet were on the map. It was true, it was different from the rest, but only Edward knew it wasn't a glitch. Instead of having both sets of footprints, he only had one. The metal in his leg probably wasn't registering with the enchantments of the map.

"Well, that's weird," Edward said not too convincingly. The twins thought nothing of it, but Harry glanced over at him a bit.

"There are a few passages that lead to Hogsmede from the castle," Fred said starting to guide them through the map.

"We use to use this one behind the mirror, but it caved in a couple of years ago and is useless now."

"Filch knows where these four are," he said pointing to several areas on the map.

"Your best bet to get there is through this passage," George announced tapping the witch statue faithfully with his hand. Edward looked a little nastily at the carved rock. "There is another one but the entrance has the Whomping Willow above it. Professor, knowing you, you could probably fight the Willow like you usually do, but good luck finding the entrance." Edward grumbled to himself, but Harry looked happily at the map studying all of the passages.

"You said that you got this from Filch, how do we hide it?" Edward asked suspiciously.

"All you got to do is tap it and say, 'Mischief managed!'" Fred announced tapping the thing yet again with his wand.

"Tada!" George said happily. "Now do this, or else anyone would be able to read it."

"Please take care of it, we don't need it anymore."

"But if Filch finds his hands on it again."

"He is bound to figure us out," they both said together. As the two twins mysteriously snuck off to do their own other mischievous deeds, Edward and Harry looked over the map.

"So are we going to Hogsmede?" Edward asked walking over to study the statue. Harry walked over with him a little baffled at what the teacher was saying.

"Aren't you supposed to be a teacher and prevent us from doing all of this?" Harry asked dumbly.

"Yes, but I am also only fifteen and I really need to get out of this castle, for your sanity and mine," he said still studying the statue. He glanced down at the kid with the map. He was only wearing a light robe for the occasion. It was bitter cold outside and if Hogsmede was where they intended to go, then he would need something warmer to fight the winter weather. "Come with me for a second."

Edward started to walk down the corridor and after a moment to debate it, Harry followed him. After passing a few familiar portraits, Edward stopped in front of his chamber portrait. Al was holding Winry back as she tried to hit Edward with her painted wrench. She was still mad. It was kind of funny to watch a painted version of her get mad, but that was because the wrench was fake. He just had to await the real thing to get that effect. Edward opened the portrait and lead Harry into his chambers. After searching through his drawers for a little bit, he found a spare winter coat and tossed them at Harry. The kid glanced down at the long red fabric awkwardly. He slipped it on and felt absolutely ridiculous wearing one of Edward's trench coats.

"Sir, we are going to be walking around Hogsmede, are you sure that red is an appropriate colour?" he asked nervously as Edward grabbed the boy a pair of boots as well since he only had dress shoes on.

"What are you talking about? There is never an occasion that you should never wear red! It is a badass colour!" Edward said chucking the boots at the kid. He fumbled with them and nearly fell to the ground.

"but Sir-"

"Don't call me sir, I get that enough from Feury. Edward will do for this mission," he announced and then grabbed his own jacket. Edward still had trouble putting jackets on with only one arm but he managed to strap it on around his shoulders.

"Edward, we are going to be going into a crowd of a bunch of students who probably realize that we didn't originally get on the carriages, shouldn't we go in something less conspicuous?" Harry asked him. Edward spun around and grabbed the coat from off the boy's shoulders.

"You're right!" he exclaimed and dropped the coat on the floor along with one of his black under jackets. Luckily he was still able to clap his hands together since his automail was still intact. He transmuted the coat colours to switch and his jacket turned bright red while his coat turned a light black. He carelessly tossed the new coat back to Harry and dragged the boy out of the door carrying a lantern in tow. Harry clambered back to the witch statue in Edward's coat and combat boots which were oddly the perfect size for him, but they still looked ridiculous. Edward studied the statue again but he couldn't find any source of a passage.

"How do we get in?" he asked Harry.

"Well, it looks like we say, Dissendium," he replied. Just as he said the word, the statue moved out of the way and a small passage opened in front of him. Edward looked at the kid stunned for a second and then back at the passage.

"How did you do that?" he asked baffled.

"The map said so," Harry answered. Edward grabbed the map and looked at it. The word dissendium was coming out from Harry's footprints as if he were saying it. Grumbling to himself, Edward shoved the map back in the kid's face and entered the passage with the lantern. It was a small opening, but Edward fit perfectly though it. The passage way was dark and long, but the two of them walked through it all the same. The thought of exploring a secret passage amazed them. After what seemed like a couple hours, but was really only thirty minutes, the two of them found a staircase. They clambered up it and opened then trap door into the basement of Honeyduke's sweet shop.

"I can't believe it! Those bastard really were telling the truth!" Edward said as he hauled himself out of the passage way with his one good arm. Harry followed pursuit and the both of them ran up the stairs into the shop. The place was filled to the brim with an assortment of colours, smells and amazing sights that the two of them never seen before. Several students were piled into the shop, but didn't seem to notice or care that the two boys were there. Edward took a liking to the rock candy, but Harry spotted Ron and Hermione off in the corner. Harry hauled the reluctant teacher over to them with him.

"Do you think that Harry would like these Cockroach clusters?" Ron asked shoving a bag of strange crawling chocolates in Hermione's face. She gave the boy a disgusted look and shoved the bag back on the shelf.

"Who puts bugs in chocolate?" Edward asked a little bit disgusted by the strange assortment they had in the foreign and rare delicacies section. Ron and Hermione spun around in total shock to find Edward and Harry standing behind him. Ron smiled and gave Harry a hug, but Hermione clocked Edward in the left shoulder.

"What are you doing here! If the teachers find out-"

"But I am a teacher," Edward butted in happily.

"A teacher that isn't supposed to be here either!" Hermione retorted busting Edward's pride. She was absolutely furious; couldn't she break the rules for once? It was the winter holidays after all. Christmas to most people, but winter holidays to him.

"Come on! Let's go get some butter beer! I know that you guys will love it!" Ron announced ignoring the fuming Hermione. The three boys left the sweet shop and Hermione reluctantly followed. There didn't seem to be that many people about so the walk over to the pub was easy. The four of them got a booth near the back of the house and a round of butter beer was ordered for all of them. Edward took a sip from the mug and felt the sweet sensation trickle down his throat. Oh Einstein that was good.

"So, Edward, I forgot to ask you why you didn't go home for winter break," harry said taking a sip from his mug. Hermione slapped him across the head spilling the butter beer a bit.

"Don't call the teacher by his first name! It's disrespectful!" she smite. Edward laughed and tried to calm down the girl.

"It's alright, since we were by ourselves, I asked him to call me Edward. Sir gets annoying after a while, I don't understand how Mustang can keep himself together being called that everyday," Edward laughed. The group seemed to calm down. Edward lifted the mug up with his only hand and took a gulp. "I didn't go home this break because the travel time wouldn't be worth it. It takes nearly a week by train to get to my country and by the time I got home I would be heading straight back within a few days. It was better that I stayed here." The group around him nodded in agreement.

"It is a shame that you can't celebrate Christmas with your family though," Ron said to him.

"I don't celebrate Christmas though," Edward said. Ron and Harry looked shocked and nearly spilt their drinks. Hermione took the logical approach though.

"Guys, he is probably from another religion and therefore doesn't celebrate Christmas," Hermione noted.

"But even non-religious people celebrate Christmas! I mean, it is Christmas!" Ron said flabbergasted.

"I am agnostic," Edward said to them. "I don't celebrate Christmas because in my country, we aren't big on national holidays with the small sectional religions and farming communities. We have an End of Year bash though. That gets crazy at my home town when my neighbors bring the eggnog round," Edward said happily. The boys seemed to accept it but Hermione was a little suspicious. After a few minutes of silence she finally spoke up.

"Do you even know what Christmas is?" she asked judgingly.

"No," he replied a little guilty. He quickly took a sip from his mug to cover his face.

"Uggh, your country is weird! No cars, No music, No holidays, it seems like the whole place is run by a guy who hates anything fun!" Ron exclaimed and earned a slap on the head, but Edward just laughed.

"I guess you could say that," he joked. It was true though. Ron might not have known it, but he was right. The President was not all that fun loving. Just as they were in the peak of their conversation, the door blew open and in walked a group of teachers. Hermione shoved Harry under the table and Ron attempted to do the same to Edward but he just glared at the kid and slipped under himself. The girl quickly casted a spell on a nearby tree to make it slowly creep in front of their table to block them from the sight of the faculty. It was a bit cramped under the table, and Harry was soaking wet with the butter beer he spilt on himself, but the two of them kept quiet as the teachers started to grab a table close by.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone in town lately," McGonagall stated. Hagrid, Filius, and some other large guy that Edward didn't know situated themselves down and ordered drinks.

"It must be the dementors. I know that I wouldn't want to be out and about with those things flying around," Hagrid said.

"Minister, did you hear what happened at the school?" Filius asked the strange man.

"Unfortunately yes, Dumbledore made that quite clear to me. He said that if it did anything more to the students or the faculty that he would have my head for it. I didn't even want to put the dementors there but with Black on the loose, what choice do I have?" he replied.

"He managed to get into the school once though, he could do it again. If he didn't kill anyone, he sure would have frightened them half to death. I was sure that he would have gotten Harry too if it weren't for Dumbledore rounding up everyone and putting them under guard."

"Did you ever manage to find out how he got in in the first place?" Fudge asked McGonagall.

"No we didn't however, Severus has suspicion that it could have been an inside job. He thinks that one of the faculty members could have betrayed us."

"Well, what about that new teacher you've got? Maybe he could have done something! He is a foreigner after all, maybe didn't know," Cornelius suggested. Hagrid slammed his fist on the table.

"Edward is a good kid, and smart too! He would have never done anything like that! Even if he didn't know what Black did, he would have been smart enough to leave the man alone!" Hagrid defended him. Edward was happy to hear that the man felt that highly of him. Harry looked at his smug face for a moment and rolled his eyes.

"I guess you're right. A mass murderer like Black probably would leave a good impression on someone."

"Poor Harry. To think that after all of these years, that man is chasing after him like he did his parents!" Filius cried. McGonagall gave him a reassuring pat. Harry however, was on full alert at the mention of his name.

"Even to this day, I still can't believe that they trusted that with their lives and he completely turned on them! I would have never had guessed it when they were in school. The four of them, Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter, were all so close."

"Sirius was even the best man at their wedding as well as their secret keeper and godfather of Harry!" Hagrid said.

"It was when they were in hiding that Black turned them over to Voldemort. He was the only person who knew where they were and he just told him like it was common knowledge!"

"I can't believe that when I picked up Harry that night from the house, that that man would have even had the guts to show his face. I should have known!" Hagrid started to cry. "I should have known that something was going on, but the man leant me his bike to take the boy away! I was so grateful for his help that I didn't even think of what he was doing there! I should have stopped him! It was all my fault!" Tears were falling down the giant's face and Flitwick tried to calm him, but he ended up having to be taken outside. The man was causing too much of a ruckus indoors. Fudge sighed and paid for their drinks.

"It is a shame what the world has come to these days," he said to Minivera before he left as well. Professor McGonagall looked like she was about to leave but then caught sight of the oddly placed tree. Instead of walking out the door she started to approach their table. Edward and Harry were to be caught for sure. Out of desperation, Edward silently clapped his hands and deteriorated the floors and pulled Harry into the tunnel he had made before sealing the floors shut again. This was especially hard because he had to haul a stone shocked kid into a hole with only one arm. However, they made it undercover just a split second before McGonagall moved the plant.

"What are you doing?" McGonagall said a little taken aback by what she saw. Hermione was in the middle of kissing a completely shocked Ron. She thought that if they were able to take McGonagall's eyes off of the table then maybe Harry and Ed would have a chance. Unfortunately that left very few options. Hermione shoved the red headed kid away from her and looked up at the teacher.

"Just enjoying our holidays I guess," she said acting as though to be completely dreaming. Ron still sat frozen in the corner. McGonagall looked at the table and saw the four glasses of butter beer.

"Granger, I would advise you to lay off of the sugar," McGonagall said before returning the tree to its previous position in front of them. After the teacher had left Hermione let out a shudder.

"Ugghh, so gross!" she cried. "I am never going to become an actress if I have to do that!" Ron gave a goofy smirk.

"It felt real enough," Ron joked. Hermione slapped him across the face so that his cheek was the same colour as his hair. Edward and Harry came back above the floorboards after reopening their little hideaway cave. Edward poked his head above the table to see the couple arguing.

"What did you do up here?" he asked suspiciously staring at Ron's red face, but Hermione ignored him and looked at the frozen body of Harry who was still seated underneath the table.

"Harry? Are you alright?" she asked softly.


	11. Christmas Headaches

**Sorry bout that. This was supposed to go up last night but then my school's internet shuts down randomly. It is quite spotty in some places and my room is the worst of them. WELL, like I always say, here is another chapter. I hope you enjoy. And Thankyou for all of the reviews!**

CHAPTER 11

Christmas Headaches

"We know what you are thinking Harry, but don't do anything stupid!" Hermione warned him as the boy stormed throughout the common room later that evening. Harry was absolutely furious about what he found out. Ron knew that the information was a shocker, but he also knew that Harry had a tendency to get hasty and big headed. The saying 'don't do anything stupid' would most likely wash over the kid. The three bystanders to the boy's anta rage, Edward, Ron, and Hermione, sat in the squashy armchairs and watched him pace back and forth in front of the fireplace.

"But what am I supposed to do? That man threw my parents at Voldemort's feet! I just can't sit here and wait for him to get me too!" Harry argued.

"Yes you can!" Ron spat back. "If you go looking for him of course he is going to find you!"

"But I will find him!" the deranged kid retorted as if he was already making a plan.

"That is the same exact thing," Edward grumbled. Nothing seemed to calm the kid down. He was pacing faster than ever, and his hands were constantly clenching and unclenching themselves as if to grab something. Everyone was worried. Edward gave out a sigh. "Look," he said trying to give him the story straight. "Vengence is not the way to go about things. What do you expect to come of it? If everybody got vengeance on one another, when would it all stop?"

"What would you know about it? It isn't like your parents were murdered by a mass serial killer," Harry grumbled and leaned back against the mantle. Edward wanted to strangle the kid, and he knew that if he was Izumi she would have, but he kept himself contained. After a moment, Edward let out a breath of air he didn't know he was holding.

"My friend was in the exact same position as you," he said. Everyone looked up at him but he held up his only hand to silence any sound of attacks. "She had parents who were Doctors in the civil war and they tried the best that they could to help every injured person there, no matter what ethnicity. However, one of the patients that they fixed woke up and killed them both because they were Amestrian." Hermione gasped and Ron's mouth dropped open. Harry shifted uncomfortably where he stood. "She grew up without her parents as well, but she didn't wake up one day and go searching for the man out of the blue."

"But I know who killed them! I know that he is around here somewhere!" Edward had enough. He calmly stood up and grabbed Harry's shirt collar and pinned him to the wall. He was amazingly strong with just one arm. Everyone in the room was a bit shocked about this and Harry was completely frightened.

"Listen to me, you don't want to do this! I knew the man who killed her parents. I unfortunately met him on several occasions. The question isn't will you find him, the question is, are you ready to pull that trigger?" Edward gritted. "My friend, no matter how much she wanted to kill him, she couldn't pull that trigger. Black might and probably will not hesitate when you can't pull it. You are not a killer Harry, so don't be stupid like one!" Edward dropped Harry and stormed out of the Gryffindor Common room. Hermione and Ron looked at the shocked face of their friend and knew that the message had sunk in. Even after the portrait closed after him, Harry was still frozen in his place with only a wrinkled shirt and memory to prove that their talk actually happened. After a little bit Hermione and Ron watched Harry slowly make his way up the boy's staircase and to his room. The both of them shared a sigh of relief.

"I don't know where he gets it," Ron said amazed, "but Edward really has a way with words."

….

Christmas morning came sooner than expected with a fresh layer of snow to line the ground with. Edward woke up early that morning and clumsily got dressed. Breakfast was going to be completely empty since there were only fourteen people there for the holiday, he included. As Edward braided his hair and walked out of the portrait hole, he nearly tripped and fell over a random pile of boxes outside of his door. Some one seemed to have left oddly shaped and coloured presents near his door. He picked one up and looked it twice over. His name was written on the front and back of it in cursive writing. From all of the tests he corrected and homework he looked over, Edward knew that it was Hermione's. There were several other packages laying outside along with a couple letters, he pulled them into his chambers and sat down on the bed to investigate them. One of the letters seemed to be from someone outside of school since it had the address on it and looked like it was handled by a couple owls as there were feathers stuck all over it. Edward popped it open and pulled out the contents.

_Dear Mr. Elric,_

_Merry Christmas to you! We have heard about all of the marvelous things that you have done at Hogwarts already this year from our sons' letters. I think that we would all like to thank you for saving Harry from falling off of that broom. He is kind of like a son to us so we are eternally grateful for your actions. However, I would like to say, don't help Fred and George with any more of those exploding letters. The first one nearly gave us a fright and the second sent the owl through the window._

_Though we have never had a formal introduction, we thought that we might help you celebrate the holidays. Molly heard that you got cold in the winter and thought that it would be a good idea to send you a couple things. I, Arthur, sent you a few items that Ron said you didn't have. I went to muggle London to get them for you. It is so fascinating! I would truly love to meet you sometime for a talk about your amazing muggle culture. _

_Have a terrific Holiday, the Weasely family._

_Arthur, Molly, Bill, Charlie, Percy, George, Fred, and Ginny._

_P.S. Please keep Ron out of trouble and tell him that we have got his grades. I will be sending a howler soon. _

_ -Molly Weasley_

Edward chuckled as he finished the letter. He didn't know that the Weasley's family was so large. It seemed like Arthur was a muggle fanatic though, a little ironic. He didn't know that Ron sent letters home, nor did he know that the twins sent some of the exploding letters home as well. He was silently proud of himself that they worked so well, but the twins threw him under the bus there. Edward set the letter down on his desk as a reminder to make a reply and opened some of the presents.

Molly Weasley must have sent him the sweater. It was bright red with the Flamel symbol on the front. Edward was a little surprised to see it there, but after all, he did wear it every day. Ron, Ginny, or the twins must have sketched it down somewhere. Even though he wasn't much of a sweater person, he pulled the woolen knit over his head. It was a little big around the neck but otherwise fit like a charm and was really warm. Arthur sent him some vinyl records and a turntable to play them on. It was Ron's doing, only explanation after their chat about his music deficiency.

A few other packages were left and they were from Hermione. They were smaller than the rest but none the less thoughtful. He unwrapped a bottle of aspirins which a note said were for the rainy days, and then an English dictionary for him to read. He was already speaking choppy English but he needed to learn more nouns or verbs before he could trust himself to teach without the translation spell.

When the clock stroke nine, Edward put the gifts away and shoved the wrapping paper into the fireplace. Mental notes were placed all around his chambers reminding him to give something back in return. After all, equivalent exchange followed everything right? When he left the chambers the picture of the Colonel was yelling at him to be punctual. Edward ignored him and raced down the corridor. He was late for breakfast.

…

"Please Sibyl sit down, I promise you that nothing will happen to you," Dumbledore said calmly. Trelawney was nervously shaking as she took a seat next to one of the left over first years. When she counted the table, there were thirteen people seated at it. Thirteen was a bad number. Sibyl basically broke down. This was the first time that she has been out of the tower in ages and she got stuck with the thirteenth seat. McGonagall rolled her eyes in her direction as she took a spoonful of scalloped potatoes. Though the company around her seemed perfectly fine, Sibyl was still shaking a bit, her big bug glasses bounced on her face as she did so.

"Sibyl, if you are so worried about it, just wait till Elric comes down for breakfast. Then you won't be the thirteenth, you will be the fourteenth," McGonagall said accusingly.

"But I have already sat! If I stand up then Elric will be cursed as well too!" she replied still shaking a bit as she handed a plate to the student on her left. Edward walked in casually, wearing a bright red sweater that Ron never though that he would see on him. A few snickers from Ron and Harry were let out as he sat down at the foot of the table. He glared at the two a bit, but didn't linger. It was the holidays, no use ruining it with the stare of doom. Edward knew all of the people at the table. The faculty members were easy to count and the students were all in his first or second year class, aside from the trio that is, but there was one weird person that he never saw before. She had bushy hair and was dressed almost like a dragon fly. Hell, if she wasn't holding a spoon and showing the use of her opposable thumbs he would have thought that she really was an insect.

"Who is she?" he asked jabbing the baked bean spoon in Trelawney's direction. He had a hard time serving himself food with only one arm and had to make room at the table to set the dishes that he was using. The bug eyed lady looked at him dazedly like the air was magical and daisies.

"I am the Divinations teacher, Professor Trelawney," she said mystically. Her voice was light as air and rather annoying. "You must be Edward Elric the alchemist from Central. How nice it is to finally meet you! You must come up to my tower and have tea with me sometime. Your Aura is quite unseating." Edward rolled his eyes and finished scooping a few more different foods onto his plate.

"If I drink tea, I would consider," Edward replied. "But I have a hard enough time understanding transfigurations, I don't think that bipity bobety boo stuff you do is going to help my cause any greater."

"But one must always prepare themselves for the future. Looking to the past won't help you that much," Trelawney answered. Edward swallowed a spoon of mashed potatoes and pointed his fork at her.

"It helps more than you think. I hate to quote my Commanding officer, but he said that sometimes looking back is to see how far you have come. It's called a learning experience, trial and error. I make my way through life by using ideas or abilities from my past experiences and applying them where needed. In combat, I don't know every move that my opponent will make. If you know everything that will happen, then why live it?" Edward asked her. She looked a little taken aback. "It is just like watching a play. If you know the story word for word, then why watch it again? For the enjoyment? I don't want to know my future because I know that everything will turn out right in the end. If it doesn't then my life isn't over yet." Sibyl turned silent but a small smile grew on Hermione and McGonagall's faces. From all of the conversations they had, neither one of them had anything good to say about the art of divination. Edward was the only one who would challenge that to her face. Sibyl went quiet and then started eating quietly. Her mind eye was in a pain.

"Sometimes a hint is all you need," Sybil said quietly to him. "The thing that you are looking for is closer than you think. You will find the answer in the most unlikely places, just like three did before you." Edward nearly choked on the food he was eating and dropped his fork underneath the table. Was she talking about the Philosopher's stone? Edward looked at her questionably but she returned to eating quietly. He had been searching the entire library for information but he still couldn't find anything. Of course he didn't have as much time as he would have wanted, but he cleared off the entire science and muggle sections of the huge library. Nothing, not even a hint. Edward felt a growing pit in his stomach as he bent down underneath the table for his fork. It could have been the beans, but for some reason felt too familiar. All of a sudden, they heard a scream coming from outside the Hall. Everyone turned their heads around to see who it was. Edward bumped his head off the top of the table before grumpily crawling out from underneath.

"BROTHER RUN!" the voice screamed and a loud clang followed as if someone pushed a car down the stairs. The entire room fell silent for they didn't understand, while Edward's stomach pit grew. A blonde haired girl burst opened the doors to the great hall. Her face was red with anger and in her hand she held a gleaming metal object.

"Winry?!" Edward said completely surprised. The girl didn't answer but instead chucked the wrench at his head. It hit its mark with deadly accuracy and Edward fell over off of his chair. Some of the teachers gasped in astonishment while the students poked the limp body of the downed Elric.

"How dare you ruin my automail!" Winry screamed at him as she approached the injured alchemist. If he wasn't mortally wounded he was going to be. "This was probably one of the dumbest ways you could possibly do it! Falling off a broomstick! All of my hard work to fix you up went for falling off a broomstick?" Edward rushed over and clamped his only hand over her mouth before she could say anything more. The girl bit it and he howled in pain. Edward glared at her and rubbed his only hand against his pants for comfort. He completely forgot that the translation spell was still in effect and that the others couldn't understand her, but that didn't mean that she could keep talking about his arms like that. Luckily, Edward didn't need to tell her twice, she knew when to shut up. Instead of finishing the lecture, she walked over to the table and sat down in his seat, setting her large tool box to the side. "Al is out in the hall if you want him," she said stubbornly, not looking in his direction.

"Al?" Edward asked hopeful. As the girl nodded her head, the doors to the Hall were opened once more as a giant suit of armour made its way over to his brother. The suit ran and clamped his stiff arms around him and pulled him into a huge bone crushing hug. As his brother squeezed the life out of him, Edward noticed a dent in his helmet where Winry must have clocked him. It must have been what the noise was in the corridor. "What are you doing here?" Edward gasped as he was set down and left breathless for air.

"Sorry brother, I tried to warn you that Winry was coming, but-"

'But nothing! I gave you what you deserved for ruining my artwork!" Winry jabbed back holding the wrench threatening. "You are going to owe me for all of the work I have done!"

"You're going to owe me a new head," Edward mumbled back. Unfortunately, she overheard him and gave him another thing to worry about. As he went about for another jab back, Dumbledore cleared his throat and silenced the fight.

"I do believe that an introduction is in order," he announced as two more chairs and dishes were brought around to the table. Edward grumpily took a seat on the other side of Al so that there would be a buffer zone between him and his mechanic. They were glaring nuts and bolts at each other.

"This is Al, my younger brother, and this is Winry my friend and mechanic," Edward introduced and translated them. The faculty seemed delighted to have new guests from Amestris stop by at the school, but the students were still a little frightened by the flying wrench and the giant suit of armour. One braves soul, one really brave first year soul spoke up.

"Shouldn't he be your older brother?" the kid asked stupidly. Ron, Harry, and Hermione covered their ears for the expected explosion.

"Who you calling short round?" Edward screamed as he attempted to launch himself across the table at the startled first year. Al held him by the shirt collar, while Winry beat him back to submission with the wrench. Everyone laughed at this little outburst and continued eating. Edward and Al caught up on what each other were doing. As it turned out Al found out a new lead on the stone. He said it laid in the Purification arts, but he had no clue where to start learning them. Edward gave him his update on the magic here at the school. Though he didn't find anything worthwhile, someone predicted he might. He told his brother about the dementors and the rest of the magical things there were protecting the place. He noticed that Roy must have given Winry his amulet, for she wore one around her neck. As their conversations drew on and on, they were finally interrupted by McGonagall. As it turned out they were the only ones left in the hall as everybody else left for their dormitories.

"Perhaps young Winry would like a translation spell," she asked him. Edward nodded and warned Winry about what the lady was going to do. With a swish of the wand, a spark hit her and she could understand everything. As the professor was moving towards his brother Edward moved in front of him blocking her way.

"I don't think that giving him one would be such a good idea," Edward said. McGonagall looked a little taken aback, but Al was even more so.

"Brother, what did she do to Winry?" his childish asked quietly.

"She gave her a translation spell Al, but I don't know how it will react with your armour. I didn't research magic enough to find out if it affects alchemy or not. I don't think that we should risk it," Edward replied in amestrian. Al nodded and bowed an apology to the teacher.

"Al said that since he is very fascinated in the art of languages, he would rather learn this one for himself, you know, for academic reasons," Edward said making up a quick lie. McGonagall nodded her head and left the three of them to their own devices. Edward offered a tour to his guests, but just as he was about to lead them Winry walloped him on the head.

"Hey! What did you do that for?" he cried rubbing his yet again, sore head.

"You are coming with me!" she ordered dragging Edward by the shirt collar. He tried to wiggle loose but he couldn't get free. "We are going to fix your automail before the day is done."

"But Winry-"

"No buts! I won't have you shaming my work any longer!" As Winry attempted to pull him away, he gave out his body weight and fell to the floor to stop her. She looked down at him for his pitiful attempt of escape. His golden eyes looked back at her from his position on the floor.

"Winry, you don't even know where you are going. That corridor goes to the storage rooms."

…..

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in the common room with their bunches of presents. While Hermione and Ron got mainly socks and candy, Harry got a mysterious Firebolt from an anonymous person. Ron and Harry basically were drooling over it as it floated waist height above the ground. Neither of the boys seemed to be any the bit suspicious of the overly expensive gift that he got. Hermione however, was nervous. She tried to push the logic into their heads that the broom could have been cursed or tampered with, but they couldn't hear her, or wouldn't, they were too preoccupied with its glorious glow. Harry had out his broom kit to polish and clip the bent twigs, but it was already in perfect order. All the two of them could do was stare at its heavenly glow. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I wonder how Edward is doing today." Hermione asked the two trying to change the topic of the broom. They didn't shift their eyes from the wood. "I mean, he doesn't even celebrate Christmas but still, it doesn't mean that we should leave him alone."

"I had my parents send him a couple of things for the holidays. I think he would be fine. Anyway, he has his brother and mechanic there, he will be with friends," Ron replied unconcerned of the topic at hand.

"I know, I gave him a few things too, but I don't think that being in the company of a girl who throws wrenches at his head is much of holiday cheer," she murmured.

"I wonder why he has a mechanic here, I mean machines don't work in Hogwarts, he should surely know that," Harry stated lazily. Hermione let out an annoyed sigh.

"If you were paying attention and not too wrapped up with the presents you got, you would know that she was also his friend. He could have a friend who is a mechanic you know. He could have just been introducing her with her occupation as well," Hermione stated. Ron rolled his eyes at her, but didn't dare make it known. Hermione would always find the time to state the logic and give out any reason to be a smarty. It got annoying but the thing is, she was always right. You can't argue with someone who is always right. All of a sudden, Harry jolted up from where he stood near his broomstick. Ron was a bit startled at his sudden change in demeanor.

"I completely forgot to give him my gift!" Harry exclaimed. He left the wrapped pair of white winter gloves under his bed where he would remember it. Obviously, he had to find a better place to remember things. Harry ran upstairs and grabbed the small package. "Do you think I should deliver it to him?" he asked Hermione stupidly.

"Of course!" she replied a bit astounded. "What do you think you are going to do? Keep them for yourself? Any way, it is the perfect chance to get you two some fresh air and away from that broom of yours." Hermione grabbed all of their coats off of the wrack and shoved them in their faces. Ron took his rather grumpily but Harry quickly threw his on his shoulders. The three of them, all bundled up, exited the dormitory to head towards Edward's office.

…..

"AH! Winry be gentle!" Edward moaned at his friend. They were in his office and he was laying half undressed on his cleared desk. Winry was working on his automail and just wrenched a bolt rather sharply. The pain shot up his arm and into his shoulder. To his complaint, Winry just gave him another huff of defiance and continued on her work. She still didn't forgive him for wrecking her work. Al was fooling around with Scops who hung from the horn of his helmet. The bird flew around him a bit curious about the stranger.

"I still can't believe that they send their letters by owls!" Al exclaimed as the bird decided to perch on the crook of his armoured elbow. It cooed there for a little bit and looked strangely comfortable even on the cold hard metal. "How do you think they do it?"

"Al, I have been sending you letters ever since I got here," Edward said to him. He flinched as Winry loosened another bolt. "Why haven't I heard from you guys until now?" he asked curiously.

"What do you mean haven't heard from us?" Winry said standing up from her work to glare at him. "We both sent you letters and even a few packages for every letter you sent us! I was actually glad that you were writing at all! I mean you never even called before!" Edward looked wondering at his brother, but the suit just gave a shallow nod.

"Yes, we were sending you tons of briefs. It wasn't like I couldn't find time or anything. I needed something to do at night when everybody was asleep," Al said to him, stroking the owl gently. For a person trapped in a steel confinement, he could be extremely careful and soft when he wanted to.

"I didn't receive any of them," Edward said silently.

"Maybe your bird dropped them," Winry said finally taking the plating off of his arm.

"That couldn't be," Edward shook his head. "I have been receiving commands and updates from Mustang for the longest time ever since I got it. He couldn't have been dropping just your letters." The three of them were left in silence for a while to think. The only sound that came to their ears was that of Winry's tinkering. Al sat down on the floor and set the bird down on his lap. He took his helmet off and started to polish his helmet. It was rather dirty from all of the expeditions he and Edward went on over the years, but it came off easily and left a dull shine. As the silence of the room continued to grow, it was cut off from a knock on the door.

"Oh shit," Edward silently gasped. He was not expecting visitors with only fourteen of them there and no school. He shot his brother a glance and he immediately placed his helmet back on his head. Edward sat up on the desk but Winry tried to shove him back down. This fight carried on a bit until the door finally opened. Harry, Ron, and Hermione shuffled through the door rather happily. Their merry Christmas faces fell immediately when they saw Winry standing on top of the desk holding her wrench threatening Edward as he attempted to dive underneath it. It wasn't necessarily the fact that Winry looked absolutely pissed, or that Edward was not wearing any shirt that scared them, it was that his right arm was completely covered in gleaming metal.

"What is _that?_" Ron gaped as Winry jumped off of the desk and tackled Edward to the ground. She didn't care if he was self-conscious, she just wanted to finish her work. Winry wrenched another bolt out of his arm.

"Damn it Winry! Warn me next time you are about to do something stupid!" Edward moaned and winced as another bolt came out. She rolled her eyes and kept going on about her work, not moving from her position on top of Ed. As it looked like he was going to be pinned to the floor for a while, Edward looked up at the three of them. They all looked like they have seen the biggest blasphemy of all time. He let out a sigh. "Well, don't just stand there," he groaned. "Sit down or something."

The three students closed the door and took a seat at one of the tables near where the professor was glued to the stone floor. They were quiet the entire time as they really didn't know what to say in this situation. It wasn't every day you came to realize that your friend and professor had a strange metal limb. They watched a little bit as Winry tinkered around with the jammed elbow joint. Alphonse just sat quietly in the corner waiting for anyone to do something. After a while Winry let out a sigh and dropped her wrench to the ground. The trio leaned in to get a look at her work. Instead of seeing a finished gleaming masterpiece however, they saw a metal skeleton of an arm coated in tangled and cut wires.

"It looks like it is going to have to come off," Winry sighed.

"What? No!" Edward said. He tried to turn his head to look at her but since she was sitting on his back it wasn't too easy.

"Stop being such a baby," she snapped and flipped Edward over. He tried to escape but the girl had his brother double team him. Al held him down while Winry twisted and turned a few things. With a tug and a small wince from Ed, the entire arm came clean off. The only thing left was a metal port on the stump of his shoulder. Winry dragged all of the pieces over to one of the student's work benches and started to work on it. Ron and Harry leaned in closer to see exactly what she was doing.

"Professor," Hermione said.

"As I said before, its Edward. We are not in school setting," he moaned as he stood up a bit lopsided.

"Edward," she repeated. "Why do you have a prosthetic arm?"

"I thought that would have been obvious," Edward mumbled as he limped over to his desk. He opened the drawer and grabbed out his notebook. "I lost my arm a while ago, and Winry, being a mechanic, made me a new one."

"Did you break it when you tried to catch me at the quidditch meet?" Harry asked. Winry glared at him a bit accusingly.

"He broke it?" she spat daggers.

"Winry calm down, if anyone broke it, it would be Galileo with his stupid gravity," Edward mumbled. Winry chucked a wrench at him without looking and only missed by a few millimeters. He was safe, this once. After recovering from the near death experience, Edward looked back at harry and nodded. "Yes, I did break it in the fall we had. You must have landed on my arm and the weight twisted it the wrong way." Harry felt a twinge of guilt strike through him. Edward limped back over to where the five of them sat, now that Alphonse joined them, and took a seat next to them. Winry studied him as he moved around and then went back to her work.

"Edward, I am going to need to check your leg as well. You must have grown for once," she mumbled.

"What is that supposed to mean!" Edward yelled at her nearly scribbling over his page.

"It means that you need it to be lengthened or else you are going to be walking lopsided for the rest of the year. Now you can either enjoy standing while you still can, or I can take it now like I did your arm! That all matters with what mood I am in," Winry threatened. Edward jumped up out of his chair and backed away from the crazy lady.

"I would rather enjoy not having it taken at all. You can fix my arm, just leave the rest of me alone you gearhead!" he wavered. Winry huffed and set down her wrench. She gave Al a look as she stood up. Edward bolted rather unsteadily while the two chased after him. He didn't even make it to the door however when Al took a hold of him and dragged him back on one of the work tables. "Winry!" he screamed as she hauled up his pant leg and popped his leg off as well. As soon as it was off Al let go of the struggling brother. Edward fell to the floor as he fell off of the desk. He let out a string of curses, lucky for the students, it was all in amestrian. Winry set the leg down on the table next to his arm and sat down with Al to continue her work. Edward was left on the floor.

"Your leg too?" Ron exclaimed as he looked at Edward's now empty pant leg. The three of them were all too shocked to even try and help the struggling boy up. Edward growled as he pushed himself up on his one leg and hopped over to the table where they all sat. He fell back down to the ground again and just sat there, leaning against the table leg. "By the looks of you, I thought that you were normal. Especially the way you called all those logs in. I didn't imagine this!" Edward gave Ron a death glare who was sitting at the edge of the table.

"What are you insinuating?" He seethed. Ron slid away slowly and forced Hermione to switch seats with him.

"But Edward, you wouldn't mind me asking, how did you lose both your arm, and your leg?" Hermione asked him.

"Unfortunately, I do mind you asking!" Edward gave a huff. Hermione was immediately shut down.

"Brother!" Al's voice rang out. Since he didn't have a translation spell, he didn't know all that they were saying, but he Edward attempted to look over at him, but couldn't see over the table. He carefully lifted himself into a kneeling position so he could look over the table at his brother.

"What? You expect me to tell them? It's personal! I don't want to have to explain you too!" Edward said. Al looked a little taken aback.

"Don't push all of the pressure on me! You just shouldn't deny her some sort of answer!" Alphonse said back to him. Edward looked at the cold armour, which seemed to glow with Al's kind demeanor. As he was deciding a course of action, Winry looked at him pitifully and shook her head the slightest. He gave a sigh and lowered himself back down to the floor.

"Fine," he huffed. "As you three know, I am in the military-"

"Did you lose it in a war?" Harry interrupted.

"Yes. Wait, No! Shut up!" Edward moaned. "I was eleven at the time and not _yet_ a state alchemist, but I was driven to become one after the accident. My brother and me lived in an area not too far away from the battle zone of the civil war. One day there was a raid and we were both caught in the middle of it because we were too stupid to find shelter at the time. I lost my limbs while Alphonse was brutally disfigured. That is why he has to wear that armour, to hide is hideously deformed face."

"Hey! Don't talk about my face like that!" Alphonse intervened. Edward let out a snicker as he was teasing his brother.

"I can't believe you are so self-conscious!" Edward laughed. The trio seemed to be taking his light hearted demeanor a little confused. He was laughing while talking about losing his arm. It wasn't the kind of reaction they were planning to get. Winry gave him a little kick from underneath the table and Edward fell over from lack of balance.

"Wait, so how did you join the military if you were injured beforehand?" Ron asked him.

"There are no real strict limits to becoming a state alchemist. Since there was no age limit, there was also no disabled act on it or anything. All I had to do was pass a physical exam and a mental exam to get in. With the automail Winry whipped up for me I passed with flying colours," Edward said pushing himself back up into a sitting position.

"Yeah, there are actually a lot of military soldiers with automail, after the war, a lot of people needed it," Winry said. She stood up from her work and walked over to one of her heavy cases that she brought with her. She plopped it down next to her work area and opened it. Several lengths of wire and spare parts were neatly wrapped and placed inside it. There was also a wooden prosthetic that Edward would usually use as a spare. She took it out and tossed it to him.

"Put that on if you want to walk around," she said and took out a few lengths of wire as well. Edward glanced down at the leg then back up at her. She only made him wear that thing if…..

"Wait! How long it is going to take?" Edward asked her a little alerted.

"With the stupid damage you have done to it and then lengthening your leg, it will take one and a half days. There are several pieces of metal jammed in the wiring. That doesn't come out by itself you know!" she growled at him.

"Two days? I can't be stuck here two days!" Edward complained as he strapped the awkward hunk of wood to his leg. He rolled his pant leg down and tried to stand up, but having no knee movement was kind of difficult. After a few failed and pitiful attempts, Alphonse marched over and hauled his brother to his feet. Edward still didn't like being man handled and nearly fell over again by fighting Al's grip. When he was in a somewhat vertical stance, he hobbled over to his desk, cautiously and quite awkwardly. Ron and Harry both gave out snorts at the funny way he was walking, but Hermione shut them up by jabbing them in the ribs and Winry helped in giving them both a nice kick to the knee caps. Edward put away his note book in his desk and carefully tested his balance on his leg. Scops flew over to him and landed on his shoulder as if trying to help, but it just caused the offset Elric to topple over. Everyone burst out laughing, causing Edward to turn bright red. Scops seemed to be laughing at him as well with his cheerful hoots. This was going to be a long two days.


	12. Walking Again

**Okay at first their too long, and now I feel that it isn't long enough, but... oh well. Here is my next chapter. tadaaaaaa! okay. I will try to put an extra chapter up later, but now this might be it for the weekend. I will keep writing though! Don't worry the story just got started! literally, I mean black didn't even come in yet people, don't expect me to quit now! I would like to thank you all for your reviews. And I will keep you updated on the progress of my working chapters through my profile. It will all be okay!**

CHAPTER 12

Walking Again

Edward was completely bored being trapped in his office for two days. All of his meals were brought up to him by a house elf, which Alphonse took great liking to. Late in the night when no one was around, Edward attempted to climb into Alphonse and have him take him outside for some air, but his brother denied him.

"Brother, I only let pretty women and cats into my armor," Alphonse said to him and Edward was promptly shoved out. During the days Hermione, Ron, and Harry were constantly trying to find things to occupy his time with. Luckily, Edward didn't have to worry about them blabbing to anyone about his automail because he made them swear a death vow if they did. Harry looked absolutely frightened after that. Ron recently brought down his wizarding chess which Alphonse took greater liking in than Edward did. He couldn't grab the concept of long plan strategy, but he did like the fact that the figures moved with their own gory reenactments. One of Ron's black bishops strutted over to his white queen and sliced its neck off. Edward grumpily swiped the dust off of the board with his only arm.

"I thought you were in the military, how could you be so bad at this?" Ron said taking out Edward's rook with one clean move. He grumbled a bit and wiped the board off.

"My Bastard Colonel has long term strategy, I am more short game. I don't need to learn long term if I am just a pawn in a game." Edward moved his last rook and smashed one of Ron's pieces. "HA! Take that!" he screamed at him overly excited of his victory.

"Brother, don't get so dramatic, you only took out his pawn," Alphonse said to him. He was reading the English dictionary that Edward translated for him, however he still couldn't speak the language yet.

"Well if you are so smart, why don't you play then?" Edward said back to him in amestrian. Alphonse stood up and pushed Edward across the floor so that the armor could sit down at the board. Ron looked up at him questionably, but decided to take on his new opponent. Edward awkwardly got up and hobbled over to the table where Winry and Hermione were sitting at working on his automail. "Is it done yet?" Edward said impatiently sitting down next to his blonde friend.

"Not yet," Winry grumbled back at him. She continued to twist some wires back onto the arm's port with tweezers. After a few moments Edward got bored again.

"How much longer?" Winry glared at him menacingly. Hermione couldn't imagine Snape even making a scarier face than that.

"It will be done when it is done!" she scolded him. "Now stop badgering me and get over it you stumpy potato!" Edward died with the insult and fell over on the table exasperated. He couldn't get angry at Winry calling him short, especially when she was sitting so close to a tool box filled with deadly instruments. Edward gave a tired sigh.

"You know what I have been thinking?" Hermione said handing Winry a wrench that she needed. Edward scooted away slowly just in case. "How did these things work so well with the wards casted over the school? They are supposed to block out all technology that isn't protected by an enchantment."

"Well, these don't work of off any power source," Winry said not looking up from what she was doing. "The limbs move from the power that Edward's body gives off, just as if it was a normal arm. It is connected to the nervous system to gain the movement and reacts with the chemical signals it gives off."

"Basically, though phones and electricity doesn't work here, I think that the wards won't have any effect on something like a bicycle or a gun. They are powered by natural forces and don't need to be charged or anything," Edward added. Hermione nodded and handed Winry another tool. Harry came bursting through the door with a plate of sandwiches and a couple house elves following him with pitchers of water and biscuits for lunch.

"Have you seen Hagrid anywhere? He wasn't at breakfast or lunch today," he asked after the food was set down and the tiny creatures left. Hermione shrugged and Winry looked over questionably ad Edward.

"I didn't see him at all….. Actually I didn't see anybody," Edward grumbled. Winry clocked him in response. Ron let out a yelp while Al shot up from the ground and did a victory dance. The board was covered with dust, but Al's king was the last one standing.

"He beat me! I can't believe he beat me!" Ron exclaimed as he plopped down in a seat next Hermione. Edward laughed at the kid's defeat.

"Ha! That's my brother for you! He has so much time on his hands he probably figured out how to win every possible game of chess out there!" Edward laughed at him. Ron covered his head in his hands and groaned. Alphonse looked at him questionably, but didn't say anything. Winry however, jolted up from her seat and wiped Edward off of his seat as she raised the piece of metal triumphantly.

"I did it!" she exclaimed joyously as Edward grumbled from where he laid on the ground. "Your arm is done!" She hauled Edward to his feet and basically threw his small body onto a bare table.

"Winry! Slow down!" Edward exclaimed as he tried to unbutton his long white shirt. However, the girl was not patient enough to have him do it one handed and ripped it off of him. As Edward was shoved down into a prone position on the table, Winry prepped the arm for application. He calmly waited for his nurse/mechanic to get everything ready. He was glad to be getting at least his arm back, but he didn't want to face the pain.

"Okay, before we connect it, I just wanted to say that I made a few adjustments to the acclimates so that it wouldn't be as effected by the rain. I heard from the letters you sent that it was a problem so I brought a better metal to use,"Winry noted.

"Can we just get this over with?" Edward mumbled. Winry could have slapped him with his own hand if she wanted to.

"Don't be such a baby," she huffed and motioned for Alphonse to come pin down Edward's chest to the table. Edward didn't flinch as the cold hands touched his bare skin, but then the wires struck his ports. A shock of pain was sent throughout his abdomen and shoulders Edward's chest heaved forward and he let out a tiny gasp. The trio looked horrified at the pain Edward was in. After the initial shock was over, Edward was left panting on the table his arm tingly with needles. Winry started to adjust the mechanisms on it and stretched the arm too and through. Edward let out a growl as Winry and Alphonse went back to the table where everyone sat.

"Is it really that painful?" Harry asked Winry. Edward still lay on the table to let the arm finish adjusting to his nerves. A sweat was broken out over his face. Winry nodded at the boy andtook out a measuring tape.

"The surgery is worse though. It usually makes the grown men scream when the nerves were connected. I truly wish that we could sedate them for it, but the nerves could be connected wrong if we did so. If that happened it would be even more pain," she walked over to Edward and started to measure the length of his legs.

"Edward, what did you do when you got your surgery done?" Hermione asked him, but he didn't answer. His teeth were clenched together in frustration. It wasn't the most suitable time to be asking him anything. Instead, Winry answered for him. It was also a firsthand experience for her as well.

"He didn't scream and he was only eleven at the time. I guess his desperation of automail outweighed the pain that they came with. It only took him a year for rehabilitation as well. I don't know how you did it Ed, but you did it in a third of the time," Winry said more towards her friend than his student. She walked back to the table with the mesurements in tow and started to tinker with the leg that time. Within a half hour Edward was able to sit up and move his arm around as the nerves were already connected. He twisted it and stretched it to make sure everything was alright. He even tested his alchemy on his ripped shirt.

"Works like a charm!" Edward exclaimed.

"Of course it does! I made it!" Winry shot back at him.

"Brother, I guess you can go outside now since you don't look like you are missing any body parts," Alphonse said from where he was seated.

"Hey you're right!" Edward said, but Winry shot him another glare.

"Don't you go busting it up again, or else I will bust you up the same! Equivalent exchange or whatever you call that!" Winry threatened swinging her wrench around. Ron had to duck out of her way or else her fury might have hospitalized him.

"That's anything but equivalent!" Edward raged at her but the wrench flew. If he didn't attempt to dodge it…. It wouldn't have hit him. Winry gave him a smirk and went back to adjusting his leg. She must have started to predict his moves. Hermione decided to butt in before the conversation got any more physical.

"So, Harry said something about seeing Hagrid, who's up for it?" Hermione said giving Edward a second option other than throwing the wrench back at his mechanic, which it looked like he was fully prepared to do. Alphonse slowly crept behind Edward and took the wrench out of his hands so he wouldn't do anything stupid.

"Edward go get some fresh air, it is going to be about three hours at the least before I can get this done," Winry commanded him. Without the weapon in his hands, Edward had to obey. He gave a sigh and followed the three cheery students and Alphonse out of the room.

The walk through the castle was hard since Edward still didn't have a properly working leg, but he made it with the help of his brother. Walking down the grand staircase was probably the hardest thing that he could have done. Halfway down, Alphoonse decided to just pick him up and sling him over his shoulder for the rest of the way. Edward started to fight it, but going against a huge armoured figure who can't feel pain was harder than it looked. As he was carried through the castle, Edward gave a short embarrassing wave at McGonagall who spotted the five of them in the Entrance hall. She didn't even ask.

Hagrid's hut seemed peaceful from far away, but as they got closer to the building, the five of them could hear crashes and sobs coming from the inside. It sounded as if Hagrid was having a giant's rampage in there. Hermione walked in and found Hagrid crying at his kitchen table while Buckbeak made himself comfortable in the corner of the cabin. Several vases were knocked off the walls where the Hippogriff must have traveled. Seeing the creature, Alphonse nearly panicked and dropped Edward to the ground.

"AL!" Edward whined as he clumsily stood up. Alphonse was in a defensive stance pointed towards the creature. Ron and Harry tried to calm down the armour, but they couldn't translate.

"Brother! What is that thing? Did he create a chimera? The poor animals!" Alphonse flustered. Edward hobbled over to him and stopped his hands from coming together.

"No Al, that's a…. a Hippopotamus griffin?" he said curiously at the four wizards. He knew he heard them talking about it in the beginning of the year, and that Lupin explained what it was, but he never actually saw one before. He said that it was a mix between a bird and a horse, so this creature seemed to fit the description. Harry laughed a bit.

"Hippogriff," Harry said.

"Yeah, a hippogriff. Supposively they are natural here. I don't know how, but they are. Mechanical isolation doesn't seem to exist here," Edward said. Alphonse calmed down but his body was still a bit tense, even for being metal.

"What is it doing in the house?" Alphonse asked him. Edward shrugged and lead his brother over to the table where Hagrid was still upset. Hermione was trying to sooth him, but that only led to more tears. Hagrid had his tablecloth sized hanky out and was trumpeting into it. He shoved an opened letter in their general direction and continued to sob there. Edward picked it up off of the table and read the address. It was from the ministry of magic.

"Rubius, what is this?" Edward asked him. Hagrid sniffled a bit and wiped his face on the giant handkerchief.

"Th-them monsters from the C-Committee of Disposing of D-dangerous Creatures are trying to take B-buckbeak away! They c-claim him to b-be dangerous! He w-wouldn't have done it o-on purpose!" the man bawled. Edward ducked out of the way as Hagrid basically collapsed on the table in tears, his large hand almost crushing Edward's new automail. Winry would have killed him. Alphonse was a little disturbed by the scene, but Edward translated it for him.

"Brother, if it is the government, shouldn't they have some sort of trial? I don't think human rights would be that different here from Amestris," Alphonse said. Edward quickly flipped through the letter and found a date, April 20th.

"Hagrid, there is still hope. Alphonse said that there must be a trial. You could defend your case on the twentieth," Edward said pushing the letter back at the man. He didn't even glance at the letter and continued to cry harder.

"It is n-no use! T-those b-beasts at the c-committee would do anything f-for their e-evil cause! N-not one man i-in history w-won a c-case and made it out alright w-with them! Buckbeak is doomed!" Hagrid cried.

"Hagrid!" Hermione scolded him. "At least you have a chance! You can't go giving up now! I bet that there are a few people who made their cases and won! Stop crying!" Hagrid looked up at her pitifully.

"Yeah mate, if you don't try, you won't get anywhere," Ron added. "We will even help you find some pointers." Hagrid started crying again but gave the two Gryffindors a large overbearing hug. Edward cringed at the thought of the pain those two were going through.

"Th-th-thank-you!" he exclaimed. "Y-you all a-are s-so kind! This is th-the second t-time you stood up f-for me! I o-owe you so m-much!" He started to hand them rock cakes, but the lot of them just stuffed them in their pockets to be used as fire fuel later. Alphonse took a few and handed them down to Fang underneath the table just to seem polite. After a few drink they got a result of a much happier Hagrid. They exchanged a few words about his fixed arm and then Alphonse's fancy for armour, and then the lot of them made their exit into the cold of winter. Alphonse helped Edward down the short icy staircase of the hut and he safely made it to the bottom. It wasn't until Fang pounced on him that he fell over. His face was filled with snow. Hagrid came over and hauled the dog off of him, freeing the shorter Elric from his prison. Alphonse laughed and then slung Edward back over his shoulder. They were going to have to walk back up the grand staircase anyways.

Since they only spent an hour down at the hut and Winry didn't want to be disturbed for at least another two hours, Alphonse carried Ed all the way up to the Library. They started to pull books from the shelves, against Pince's frustration, and search for anything to help with Hagrid's case. Alphonse, being not able to read the books just yet, had Edward pick a few simple reads to help him with his translation. The search didn't turn out so well though. They found a lot of information in the history of Magic section but it wasn't too optimistic and was very graphic. Edward found several cases where a supposedly dangerous Thestral was hunted down and burnt to the steak just for reminding someone of a death and supposedly being the one who caused a man to do suicide. There was a ink drawing in at the corner of the page that Edward decided to cover up before he puked. Of course this was a long time ago and they didn't burn anything anymore, but the fact remains, no one got away from the Committee. Hermione, Ron, and Harry found several other related escapes, but they weren't as picturesque as Edward got. As the time ticked by, there was a long low rumble that filled the study space. Their stomaches gurgled and begged for mercy of food. They were at this for nearly two hours but dinner wasn't until one more. Edward groaned.

"Uggh, I need to get some food," he mumbled. The three of them nodded in acknowledgment but returned to their work. Edward slumped over the table with food exhaustion.

"Brother, dinner will be done soon, you can wait until then," Alphonse said to him as he flipped a page in his child's book. Edward moaned and shoved his fists into his coat pocket. Instead of being empty like he originally thought, his hand brushed up against something hard and foil. He carefully pulled out the object. It was salvation. There were three cases of chocolate frogs that he left in there. That coat, since he had a couple, must have been the one that he wore when he was in the hospital with Harry. He never did eat those chocolate frogs yet. Edward basically praised the gods of fate.

"I can't believe that you still have those. Are they any good?" Harry asked him, but Edward didn't care. He was starving. Turning around to make sure that Madam Pince wasn't prowling around, he quickly opened up the package. The frog jumped out, much to Alphonse's surprise, but Edward slammed him hand down on top of it and pinned it there like a savage beast. He ate the chocolate and much to his delite, his hunger dampened. Since he thought he could last, he offered the two other frogs to the students. Harry and Ron each took one. With a sigh of satisfication, Edward pushed the wrapper away and picked up his book. Alphonse slapped him upside the head for ruining his supper.

"You do know there is a trading card on the inside, right?" Hermione said to him as he ignored the left over wrapper.

"Damn! I got Dumbledore again!" Ron raged quietly. It seemed like he was cursed to get the same card for eternity. A bit curious now, Edward took his out of his wrapper and looked at it. He cursed in amestrian.

"Mother-"

"ED!" Alphonse scolded him. Edward jabbed the card in his face. There on the very front was a picture of Van Hoenheim, golden hair and all. He was staring monotone at the camera and blinking his identical golden eyes at them. "No way!" Alphonse exclaimed. "Dad is on a card! He must really have been famous!"

"Of course I would have gotten this card out of all of them," Edward said quietly taking back what he said about the god of fate before. Ron leaned over their shoulder to see what card they were holding.

"Whoa! You got Hoenheim on your first go! He is the rarest card of them all!" Ron exclaimed in awe at their luck. Edward grumbled.

"Great, you are just making this much better," he said sarcastically.

"Why would this be a bad thing? You got something of great value out of this?" Hermione asked him. Edward refused to answer and just turned his head from the group. Ron took the card out of Alphonse's hand to study it better. He looked kind of familiar.

"You know, he looks kind of like you," Ron said hitting the dime. "Are you like his great, great, great, great grandson or something?" he asked him. Edward banged his head off of the table. Hermione took the card judgingly from her friend and looked at it. She wasn't actually expecting Ron to be right about his appearances. His judge of picture really wasn't the best, but she couldn't counter it. Ron was absolutely spot on. Edward looked almost like the son of Van Hoenheim.

"It is because I am," Edward said as if reading their minds. He knew that they were all thinking the same thing. It was obvious by the sound of churning gears, and observing looks they were giving him. "He was our father." The lot of them looked absolutely dumbfounded at him. The card came crashing down to the table as Hermione stood up and nearly yelled at him.

"But that's impossible!" she exclaimed just to receive a silencing from the librarian. She leaned over and changed to a whisper. "You would at least need to be his fourth generation great grandson! He is ancient!"

"Ancient? I know my father is an old bastard, but I would go calling him ancient!" Edward said grabbing the card from her. The date of existence was located on the back as well as a short bio. "FOURTEEN SIXTY FOUR!" he exclaimed. Madam Pince shot them a dirty look as she passed by. Edward ignored her and shoved the card in Alphonse's face. "How is this even possible?" he translated for him.

"Dad is so old!" Alphonse exclaimed. He rechecked the date nearly twice. "He would have to be at least four hundred and eighty!" Edward read the back of the card out loud to see if it made any sense.

"Van Hoenheim

1464- Present

Van Hoenheim is one of the most famous revolutionist of the

science of alchemy. Himself, Albus Percival Wulvric Brian Dumbledore, and the Nicolas

Flamel each had their own hand in the creation of the Sorcerer's Stone. Not much is known

About Van Hoenheim himself, for he disappeared off of the map a long while

ago, but it is known that he remains happy and healthy in the country of Amestris."

"AL!" Edward exclaimed. "Do you know what this means? That bastard knew all along! He created one! He created one!"

"But brother, you said a Sorcerer's stone, not a Philosopher's stone," Al interjected.

"Is there any difference? That is the question!" Edward said enthusiastically. "If they are the same, no harm done, but what if they are different?"

"Then the recipe would be different and…. Brother we need to find out!" Alphoonse said anxiously. Edward turned around to the stunned group of students. They had no clue what they were talking about for the last few minutes.

"Do you know anything of this?" Edward said shoving the card in Harry's face.

"Anything of what?" Harry asked him taking the card from the kid so it wasn't making him cross-eyed.

"Do you know anything about the Sorcerer's Stone?" The three students looked at each nervously. They had a few stories to tell.


	13. Step Off on the Wrong Leg

**Okay... better chapters are going to come. I wanted to put a filler chapter to get the Back story almost wrapped up and prep the sotry for the future chapters. Remember that this is going to be a multiple book story. Oh so excited! Okay hope you like it, thank you all for the reviews. warn me if there are any typing errors or anything, ANYTHING. Put what you really think in the comments that is what they are there for. Thank you all again!**

CHAPTER 13

Step Off on the Wrong Leg

Edward and Alphonse raced down out of the library and through the castle. Edward didn't actually run since Al was carrying him, but he guided his brother through the maze towards the headmaster's office. The trio were left in the dust at the library still wondering what got into those two. They had recently just told the two Elrics about their adventures of their first year. Edward seemed to go crazy when they said that the stone was in the castle, but even more so when they admitted that it was destroyed. The two brothers ran out of the library as fast as they could.

It was only the second time that Edward had actually been in the headmaster's office, but this time he actually made an entrance. He climbed up the tower's staircase and kicked down the double doors. Dumbledore was looking rather startled at the two as they entered his office. Severus was there and it looked like they were in a serious conversation, but Edward didn't care. They were going to have a serious conversation right then.

"Tell me, what happened two years ago!" Edward commanded the old man. He limped over to the desk where the two were sitting at and glared at the old man. "Tell me what you were doing with the Sorcerer's stone." He knew Dumbledore was a little flustered with the sudden change in demeanor, but he didn't show one ounce of it. Edward glared into the cheery eyes of the old fart.

"Mr. Elric, it looks like you aren't feeling well. Why don't you take your weight off of that leg and take a seat?" Dumbledore asked kindly and whipped his wand around. Two chairs came out of nowhere and set them down next to Severus. Al kindly took the larger chair, but Edward still stood leaning against the desk.

"I need to know. My father helped create it, I need to know. There is a lot of things going down and anything about a potential philosopher's stone I absolutely need to know about," he said sternly and tossed the wizard trading card on the table. Dumbledore eyed it and chuckled at the face of his old colleague.

"Yes, I remember those years. Your father did help me and Nicolas make one. It was actually his alchemy that worked in the creation. I added a bit of my sorcery, whilst Flamel made the recipe for all of this. It was an ingenious plan and it worked with no doubt. We wanted to share the information with the world, but Nicolas was smart in keeping it hidden. No later did we finish removing all traces of the creation, did Voldemort decide to come after it. I am sure that Harry and his friends told you about their adventures their first year," Dumbledore inquired. Edward gave a huff at the old man.

"Yeah, you must have really poor defenses if three students found their way through it and came out alright." Edward and Albus just stared at each other for the next few moments as if trying to assert dominance or read each other's mind. Alphonse and Severus sat awkwardly in the corner watching the two's silent battle. Severus noticed how Edward was putting all of his weight on the right leg and seemed to be staggering to keep his balance. It took a few moments, but Dumbledore leaned back satisfied in his chair.

"Now Edward, what would you want with the stone, haven't you heard that it was already destroyed?" he had min pinned there. Edward's eyes narrowed at him and he plopped down in the chair next to Snape. His left leg, or what was left of it, was killing him.

"I don't want to find it, I want to know how to make one," Edward sighed at him. Snape shifted around in his seat unsettling, and Edward rolled his eyes at him. "What use would it be to just find one and not know what it is made of? If I were to use it and then find out it goes against all morals of humanity, then what type of person would I be?"

"But what are you planning to use the stone for? No one simply wants to find out what it is and not use it for anything, what are you seeking?" Edward paused for a bit and looked over to Alphonse. His brother had no clue what was going on, and this was one thing that he needed to know.

"Alphonse, the old man wants to know what we want it for. Do you think that we should tell him?" Ed asked him in Amestrian. Snape, who was sitting between the two, looked rather confused at the change in language. Al shifted around in his armour.

"But brother, can we trust him? He could tell the military and get you court martialed or something. What if they just don't accept it?"

"The country is already messed up as it is. The President can't risk me leaving the military even if I wanted to. I tried once before, I don't think court martial would do anything for me at this point except keep a closer eye on us," Edward replied. Alphonse nodded their head. It was true, Edward and even the Colonel, did attempt to leave once before, but the Fuher wouldn't let them. A court martial would most likely be over ruled and Edward would be left in the same place he already was, stuck far away from the chaotic event of the country in a small wizarding school isolated from society. Now that he looked at it, this was probably what the president wanted in sending him there. He was basically helpless, and when the time came, the military could just come and retrieve him when they needed to. "Alphonse." Edward stated, but his brother didn't need a second thought. The suit of armour reached up and pulled off its helmet. The boy leaned over to show everyone what was inside, but nothing was there. Severus nearly died of shock while Dumbledore just stared at the two of them with a straight contemplating face.

"It doesn't sound much of noble goal, but I want to return what was taken from us," Edward said to the headmaster and lifted his own sleeves for an extra reminder. He turned to Severus. "I am sure the Colonel refused to tell you anything about us because of the consequences that my job would receive, but that isn't a problem anymore. He was probably just giving me the option of telling you instead. We did not lose our bodies in the war."

"Then what happened?" Severus asked him shakily. The suspense seemed to unseat the potions master. Edward turned back to Dumbledore and gave him a look. The old man immediately whipped his wand and all of the doors and windows to the tower were shut off and all of the picture frames were flipped over.

"I want you to promise, that whatever I say in this room, doesn't leave it. I don't need all of the faculty walking around knowing all of this," Edward said sternly. All eyes, including his brother's laid upon him. "As you must know, just like magic, something alchemy just can't do. We attempted to do them when we were eleven. As a failed transmutation, my brother lost his body, and I lost my leg. We claimed to have been injured in a war raid of our village because the idea of this certain act was illegal and the ultimate taboo or sin that anyone could ever do. I can't tell you everything that we found behind our search for the stone, or our country's involvement because of certain variables I must account for, but I can tell you this. If that is indeed just another Philosopher's stone, this country could be in deeper trouble than it thinks. I need to know about the stone," Edward commanded. The teachers took a little bit to absorb the information they were given. After a little while, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair to relax a bit. Edward's eyes were still trained on him.

"That was quite interesting of you to share with us. I am sad to hear that your country's interested in one as well, because if it was just you, I would have thought of giving more information to you," Dumbledore said sternly. Edward fumed at the man but he just held up his hand in silence. "I am willing to give the information to one with a loving personal cause, but since the country that you live in seems to be in a dangerous involvement, I will not give it to you. The acts of one man are rarely changed, but the acts of a country are easily corrupted. However, seeing as you are one of my faculty and the son of Hoenheim, I will not deny an answer. Call it Equivalent Echange." Dumbledore gave him a weak smile and Edward returned it with his own smirk. He relaxed a bit. Dumbledore had style.

"If you are talking about the where about of its creation, the Sorcerer's stone was created one half in Amestris, and one half in England. The alchemy used, though unknown to me, was to create the main power and formation of the stone. This was the half that was created in your country. The Sorcery behind it was to contain the power, and make it easily controllable and convertible by the user. This was where I came in. Instead of just being a source of raw energy, the stone was now able to be used as an elixir of life, however, the elixir only works for as long as the stone lives," Dumbeldore informed him. Edward sat there contemplating the exchange. He translated the information over to his brother and they both sat there thinking. Severus was a little impatient. The room seemed to dive back into the silence of the world.

"Brother," Alphonse said as he finally spoke up. "It sounds as if the Sorcerer's stone is just a hybrid Philosopher's stone. I think it might be the same."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. The alchemy sounds the same and probably is if it was made in Amestris, but adding sorcery to enhance the efficiency, that's a new one," Edward said back. It looked like they couldn't use the stone after all if they wanted to keep their morals intact. He couldn't blame Dumbledore for the creation though. Even though Edward was still disgusted with the fact that the stone was still probably made out of human lives, the old man didn't know about the alchemy part. He couldn't scold him for being kept in the dark. However, a new hatred for his father burst open. He was the one behind the mess. Edward gave a sigh. "I guess we are back looking for the Purification arts then." He turned to Dumbledore.

"Thank you, that is all we needed to know," he said politely to him. He and Alphonse stood up from their chairs and bowed to the headmaster. Before they could leave however, Dumbledore stopped them.

"I expect that your leg will soon be done with its adjustments, but I will allow your brother to stay longer and research if he wants to. No one will be turned down from Hogwarts if they are in search of help, and no one will be turned away because of their past. We all are human, we all make mistakes." Edward gave a thankful nod and the two of them bowed again. Severus however, was still a little disturbed by the entire conversation. He wanted answers. Before Edward slipped out the door after Al, he stood up and stopped him again.

"Edward," Severus said to him. Edward poked his head back through the giant door. "Might I ask who it was?" The blonde alchemist looked a little taken aback by the question.

"Our mother," Edward said silently before he slipped out the door.

…..

Edward was fully functional by the end of the day. Winry gave him back his leg, not without a few threats with her wrench, and now he stood stretching out. Alphonse was looking through his presents that the Weasleys gave him for Christmas. He was really interested in the different albums and vinyls that they sent him. There was a mixture of classical, which seemed to be the more of the wizard culture, and then rock which Ron probably requested for him. Edward would have bet that Arthur was also behind it with the interest that he seemed to take in the muggle culture. He already sent the red headed family a thank you letter and Arthur replied with a novel of all the questions he wanted to ask him about his magic less life. Edward didn't play any of the music yet, being as he wasn't much of a classical or easy listening person, even though he didn't really know what their rock music was, he thought that it would have been relatively the same thing. Alphonse pulled out one of the random albums and placed the large black disk on the turntable. As soon as the needle touched the disk, loud rapid music blasted out of the speaker. Edward nearly toppled over in shock. He wasn't expecting guitars, keyboards, and harmonized men's voices to be making their way out of the enchanted machine. Alphonse actually took to the beat, being very partial to culture, and he started to move what Edward thought would have been dancing.

"You know, this isn't half bad," Winry said as she picked up the cover of the disk. Edward got up off the ground and brushed himself off.

"Sure is a change though. Who gets this from classical folk music?" Edward asked grumpily. He didn't like the fact that he was taken down by an 80's British rock band. Alphonse laughed at him.

"Guess it is evolution," he chuckled. Edward sat down grumpily in a chair. Winry started to search through the albums with his brother with peaked interest. She was probably already thinking about getting a couple before they return home. Edward rolled his eyes at them and just sat there listening to the voices coming out of the speakers. After a little while of listening, it seemed that Lupin overheard the music and came into the classroom carrying his own box of vinyl.

"I didn't know you were into music Edward!" Remus said cheerfully. He plopped the box down on the desk next to Edward and took up an adjacent seat. The alchemist gave a grumble in reply and returned to listening. Alphonse came over to Remus and sat down next to him. The teacher pushed his music box over to the younger brother so he could look through it. Alphonse nodded in acknowledgement and sifted through the music. Winry switched the vinyl to a different album. Instead of the relaxed rock that they were listening to, the guitars seemed to be making a grinding noise out of the speakers. The drums beat so rapidly, that Edward thought that the record was scratched or was skipping around. Remus laughed at the Amestrian's faces. "Music can sometimes do that. This is what the muggles call metal. I am not one for it, I would rather go to the old swing and jazz, but some people love it."

"Well, it surely is interesting," Edward said as Winry promptly removed the disk and replaced it with another smoother one.

"So I see that she fixed your arm. I was a little worried when I didn't see you for a few days. I almost thought that this lovely lady kidnapped you somewhere," Remus said slyly to Edward.

"What are you insinuating?" Edward asked him suspiciously. Remus gave a chuckle at his response. Edward was sort of glad that Winry couldn't hear them over the music.

"Nothing, just that you sure are lucky to have a friend like her around to fix you up," Remus said to him. "I wish that I had a lady friend like that but she didn't seem to find me yet," he added, a hint of sorrow filled him.

"We are not a couple if that is what you mean," Edward growled at him. Even though Edward would deny anything like that, he did have to admit that he cared for Winry. After all, she was there for him and Al even through everything that they went through. That was something that he was eternally grateful for. Remembered the conversation he had with Riza after they got the news that they were all being reassigned or demoted. She thought the same thing. Remus gave another chuckle and held his hands up in surrender.

"I just wouldn't let a good opportunity go if I were you," Remus said to him. Before he could retort however, Winry came up behind him and picked him up out of his chair.

"Keep stretching your leg out!" she commanded him. "I don't want it to lock up!"

"But Winry, I already stretched it out enough! It still hurts a bit, let me rest," Edward complained but she wouldn't have it. She bent down and grabbed his automail leg and lifted it up. She did so in such a rapid fashion that Edward fell backward and nearly smacked his head off of the floor. "Winry!" he complained but she started to investigate his automail and moved the joints around. The only thing keeping Edward from completely falling to the ground was his arm and his other leg. He looked like an awkward human bridge. Remus couldn't keep himself together.

"Wiggle your toes for a second," Winry commanded him. He grumbled but complied. It wasn't as if he actually had a choice.

"So Ms. Rockbell, when are you going to be heading home? We would enjoy to have you for a little longer. Guests are always welcome," Remus asked her giving Edward a sly wink. Edward growled at him, but he lost his hold on the floor and smacked his face off of it.

"I was going to go home tomorrow since Edward's automail is finally finished. I just need to make a few more adjustments here," she said and grabbed a wrench off of the nearby table. Having Edward still upside down, she tightened a few loose bolts and loosened some others. Edward winced a couple times but nothing else came from him. "I heard that Alphonse was going to be staying though, at least for a couple days. I think he wanted to research a couple things with Edward," Winry added. She commanded Edward to wiggle his toes again. Satisfied with the result, she dropped him to the ground. Edward stood up his face beat red from hanging upside down for so long.

"Is that so?" Remus said glancing at Alphonse who was still sifting through his vast collection of vinyls. "I think he will find the library quite amusing. It is the largest wizard library in the nation. Unfortunately, I don't know how useful it is with the Alchemy, but maybe the restricted section has a few pieces."

"The restricted section?" Edward asked curiously, he straightened his wrinkled shirt and sat back down a cross from Remus. The man nodded back.

"There are some books that are in the library that we find too dangerous for the students so we put them in the restricted section on the fourth floor. I thought you would have heard of it by now, but I guess that since students usually need Dark arts or potions books from it that you probably were never asked."

"Do you think you could show me and Alphonse later?" Edward asked hopefully.

"Sure, since you are a teacher I don't think that it would hurt," Remus shrugged. "I also heard that you were trying to find information on Hagrid's case. I am willing to give you any information you need for it. It would be a shame if they….." Remus said but stopped. Edward just nodded his head.

"Do you know who filed the order to the committee?" Edward asked hopefully. "Maybe we could persuade them differently." Remus shook his head sorrowfully.

"I am enlightened by your optimism, but I don't think that would help. Lucius Malfoy filed the order. His position in the Ministry makes him almost untouchable, and he is rarely swayed," Remus answered. Edward was a little shocked to hear Malfoy's name in there, but then again, his father was probably more persistent than the boy was. Draco probably filed the complaint to his father before he learned the value of his detention. Edward felt completely useless. "Well, there is no need for me to dampen your mood," Remus said standing up from the table. He walked over to the door and waved good bye. "You can have my disks if you like. I think you might like them. Learn how to dance if you would like." Remus merrily left the room. Edward was left thinking about the committee meeting that they had to plan for.

"Is that man sick or something?" Winry asked Edward a bit worried. He shook his head still in deep thought.

…..

Winry left the next day like she said she would. Edward was slightly sad to see her go, but immediately took back the thought when she gave him a good bye wrench to the face. She was going to be the death of him. Edward and Alphonse spent the rest of the break in the Library. They researched information about the Hippogriff case in April and Alphonse also studied his English since he didn't know how long he was going to be staying there. He was able to finally understand and speak simple English since he was up day and night studying because he couldn't sleep. Like Edward, he still needed to learn more vocabulary to be completely fine with the language. Their studies were only interrupted when Hermione came into the library with her large bag of text books. Edward still didn't know how she was able to keep up with all of the classes, but she managed. Hermione started to rant about how she was only looking out for Harry and that Ron was being over dramatic, something about McGonagall confiscating a Firebolt or something. Since Edward didn't know what a firebolt was, he just kept studying.

By the end of break, Edward still didn't find anything to help Hagrids case. All previous cases were ended in gruesome murder of the beast and a Hippogriff's anatomy and physiology barely looked harmless. He couldn't even find a way to prove that it was natural instincts without finding a reason that the Committee could use to exterminate the entire species let alone the single organism. It was a complete failure. Maybe Edward would have to talk to Lucius about it.

The first day of classes were spent usually as a review for the students since most of them seemed to be brain dead from all of the holiday festivities. Edward let them all practice a few simple transmutation as a refresher. Most of them got it within their tenth try. Neville got it on his first try and his sculpture was so detailed that it could have challenged Armstrong's self-portraits of himself. Harry seemed to be overly tired in class every day. He would fall asleep during the middle of class and wouldn't pay attention to any of the lessons Edward was giving him. Edward actually had to take him to the hospital wing because he fell asleep while he was in the middle of a transmutation and nearly set the place on fire. Harry suffered from only a couple mild burns, but the fact still stood. It wasn't healthy for the boy to be in such a condition. Poppy just finished putting the last of the bandages on the boy and gave Edward another climate control spell while he was there just in case. The pickerup potion didn't seem to have any effect on the boy though. Edward was starting to get worried.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Edward asked him as they left the hospital wing. Harry walked up to the Defense Against the Dark Arts tower with him like a zombie. Harry even looked half dead.

"I am taking anti dementor lessons from Lupin and Wood tripled our quidditch practices for the week. I guess I am just not getting enough sleep" Harry said as he yawned again.

"You need to quit something Harry. You can't keep wearing yourself down like this. It isn't healthy. And if you expect to leave my class in better condition than you did today, I sugest that you sleep a full twenty four hours before considering any homework," Edward said to him. Harry shook his head.

"I can't stop yet," Harry complained. "Our next Quidditch match is this weekend! I need to practice if we plan on getting the quidditch cup this year. I also need to take Lupin's lessons in case the dementors show up again." Edward sighed at the boy. His determination challenged his own. The boy was basically a spitting image of himself. He led the boy over to Lupin's classroom.

"Fine, but as soon as the match is over, you are going to have to either order Wood to loosen up, or stop the lessons," Edward ordered him. The kid solemnly marched into Lupins office for his dangerous defense lesson. Edward was slightly afraid that he wouldn't see the kid again, but it was Remus they were talking about. Remus wouldn't let anything happen to them.

….

At the meals, Alphonse spent his time in the library studying some more. He seemed to never take a break, but that was also because he physically didn't need to. Severus seemed to be more cautious around Edward ever since the meeting they had in Dumbledore's office. It was as if he thought of him as threat since he actually attempted the unthinkable. Edward tried to get him back into conversations with him and Remus, but nothing seemed to be working. When the meal let out, Edward pulled Severus alongside him into a walk. He led him down towards the Defense against the Dark Arts corridors. It was empty and quiet since it was after school and most kids were either at sports or in the Library studying. They just kept walking through the castle not in any rush or anything. They just walked. Severus didn't seem to pull away or anything for he had nowhere to go. After a few minutes of walking in silence, he finally said something.

"Did you ever have someone that you would have done anything for?" Edward asked him softly. Severus seemed a little taken aback, but nodded.

"Yes."

"Our father left us when we were little, Alphonse was just a baby. It hurt our family much more than I thought he knew. Our mother was depressed. We practiced alchemy to try and cheer her up. As it turned out she praised us for it. Alchemy seemed to be the one thing that mom would always smile about. We just couldn't let it go. However, she was suffering from some incurable disease and didn't even tell us about it. When she died we were all alone and seemed to have nothing left. Pinako and Winry looked after us, but it wasn't the same as having a family of your own. It was like having something so close but it just wasn't real. We were stupid and out of desperation studied alchemy in order to bring her back. We thought that since it made her smile so much, we could just do it again. We were wrong. That was why we did it, nothing more. We didn't attempt it just to practice a dark art or anything. My brother and I were innocent, all we wanted was to see her smile again." Edward stated. Severus stayed quiet to Edward continued. "It is silly how childish motions seem so innocent, even the act of love, but the answer doesn't always turn out the way we expect them to. The human experience isn't an equation."

"Why are you telling me all of this?' Severus asked him. Edward shrugged.

"I just thought, you of all people should understand. I don't know why, I just do," Edward said to him. They walked for a little bit longer before Severus answered him.

"I do understand," He replied frankly. "I had someone like that as well. A childhood friend of mine, helped me when my family was all broken. I never got to repay her for her kindness."

"I hope you don't give up fighting for her," Edward said and gave Severus a pat on the shoulder. "But I hope you realize that the answers aren't always where you look for them. I mean look at me! I had no clue my father was over four hundred years old until I looked on the back of a trading card. What you should do is look anywhere and everywhere until you find something equivalent to repay her with. Do whatever, just do it, as long as you think of the consequences first." Severus seemed to smile a bit, but his eyes were all shiny. Edward guessed he was remembering something important.

They continued on together and walked across Lupin's class room. Edward heard strange screams coming from it, it sounded like an incantation of some sort. It must have been Harry in his defense lesson. Severus cringed a bit at the screams that he heard. Harry didn't seem in pain through so that was good. Edward didn't know what Severus's deal was with that kid, but he didn't seem to like him, not hate him. Yet, the screams that came from him, no matter how tired they sounded, made the man shiver a bit.

As Edward passed the window on the door, the screams were silenced and something smacked up against the pane. It was the Boggart again in the shape of his monster, its face was pressed up against the window trying to get out. The black arms looked as if they were trying to squeeze through the cracks in the door. Edward froze where he stood and panicked. His mind raced again with the images of the previous encounter and he closed his eyes not wanting to see them again. Edward could see Alphonse's body through his closed eyes as it was being broken down by those spindly black hands. He turned around away from the creature as if it would help fade the memory a bit. Severus stepped in front of him defensively and the Boggart seemed to back away from the door. Remus, who was on the other side, beat the creature back into the chest where it originally came from. He stepped out of the classroom a little flustered to find Edward and Severus there.

"Edward, I am dearly sorry for that," Remus apologized. Edward, hearing that the danger was gone stood up and turned around still shaking a bit. Severus seemed to fume in the man's presence. "I was training Harry the Patronus Charm with a boggart and it looks like the creature seems to have taken a liking to you. If I would have known you were out here, I would have put the thing away or at least closed the blinds or something. Please forgive me for giving you a fright once again," Remus said to him. Edward was still a little baffled at what happened and just gave him a dazed nod. He knew Remus couldn't have done anything about it, but to think that the Boggart would have gone after him like that again. Severus seemed to have connected the pieces in Edwards mind and slowly pushed him down the hall away from the monster's den.

"Next time, Remus, I would be more careful when you start to meddle with someone's past and fears like that," Snape hissed at the man. Remus wanted to help, but Severus left him in the dust as he took Edward away from the boggart. Harry poked his head out of the room just in time to see the locks of blonde hair fade around the bend.

Severus took Edward through the Defense tower until they were outside of his chambers. By then Edward was regaining his self-control even though he still looked a little flustered. Snape looked down on him pitifully.

"I am guessing that was your mother," Snape stated stiffly. Edward nodded and said the password to his portrait. It swung open gracefully. "I am sorry for your loss Edward," Snape added. Before Edward went inside however, he turned back to Severus.

"Whatever you do for her," Edward warned him, "make sure you don't drag anyone else into it." He shut the portrait and left Severus to his own thoughts. He didn't care to mention to Edward that Severus's friend was dead, but that just made what he said all the more personal. 'Don't do anything stupid' was probably the more literal translation. Severus walked towards the dungeons and thought about Edward's story. It wasn't that far off from his own, and he fully understood.

…..

"Professor, why does the Boggart go after Edward like that?" Harry asked Lupin as they ate a few chocolate bars together in the classroom. The creature was locked up in the chest once again. Lupin gave a little chuckle.

"You call him Edward? My, aren't we getting a little chummy with the teachers," he said elbowing Harry lightly in the ribs. "I don't know why the boggart seems to like him so much. I am afraid for that reason I will have to keep a closer eye on it."

"Could it be like how the dementors come after me a lot more than everyone else? Maybe the boggart likes to scare Ed- I mean Professor Elric a lot more," Harry hypothesized. Lupin gave a shrug and took another bite out of his chocolate bar.

"That is a good theory, but I don't think that it is true. The boggart's transformation is usually for defense mechanisms only. It transforms when it feels threatened or when someone comes upon its hiding space." Lupin thought for a second. "Maybe the Boggart is scared of Edward."

"A Boggart being scared? That is a little ironic," Harry said finishing his chocolate. He got up from the desk and stretched out his sore body.

"Just like any creature, they have a third sense of demeanor, maybe it can sense something we can't," Lupin said to him. This now got him thinking a lot more than he cared to. Why did it go after Edward?

"I hardly think that the Professor is anything to be scared of. I mean, he is in the military, and could probably kick someone's butt or something, but that isn't anything to be afraid of," Harry said. He picked up his book bag and headed for the door.

"Well, Harry, if you think of it, our fears are hardly anything to be afraid of when they stand alone," he said. Harry nodded and then left the room. Lupin threw away the trash and walked over to the chest the boggart was in. He leaned his head down on it and listened to the chest. It sounded as if the boggart was shivering.


	14. Armour Defenses

**OMG! I would like to apologise to everyone for not updating! I am so upset myself! I was going to write tuesday but then I forgot that I had a swim meet and every other night I had rehersals for jazz combo! I apologise! Well, here is my next chapter, please tell me how it went. I will try to write more than I did this week. Thankyou everyone for your reviews and remember that I will fix and edit the chapters after the book is complete. SORRY! I want to write more!**

CHAPTER 14

Armour Defenses

Ever since that day, Edward had been avoiding the Dark Arts corridor and has been taking the long way around to classes. He ended up being late to several of his own classes on a few occasions, but luckily the students knew not to goof around, unless it was the Weasley twins. Several times during the course of the week, the two of them decided it would be a good idea to put a moving charm on Edward's chair. Whenever he tried to sit down, it would move away from him. Edward quickly countered it by giving the two detention for a week and forcing them to stand the entire lesson. Nothing happened for the rest of the week.

Alphonse was using most of his time in the library studying and learning English. He managed to strengthen his vocabulary to the point that he could finally speak to someone other than his brother. He sat in the library Thursday after noon, reading a specific book, Creatures of the Deep, an anatomy of magical species, when someone collapsed down at his table. Since he was at the library, no one actually attempted to sit next to him, it might have been for his literal steel demeanor, but it could have also been that the conversations would have been very short. It was a surprise for him to look up and see a short round kid sitting next to him. He wore red robes, probably from Gryffindor, and looked completely depressed. His hair was muffled to the point it looked like he didn't brush it for a whole week. The kid gave out a sigh and took out an alchemy text book to start on some homework that Edward must have given him. After a few moments, the kid looked up a little annoyed to see that Al was still staring at him.

"What are you looking at?" the kid grumbled and flipped the page in his book. Alphonse gave a shrug.

"I don't know, you tell me," he said. This was often an approach that he would use with Edward when he was pissed or upset. Let them tell you. The boy thought about not answering the man, but he couldn't help himself. Al was just that compelling.

"A failure," the kid sighed. "I can't seem to do anything right since the first year I got here. Snape just got finished serving my toad some potion that I made and I thought that would have been the end of it. I can't do anything right, potions, transfigurations, even charms." The kid drew a couple transmutation circles on the page while Alphonse translated.

"Well, that can't be all true….. " Alphonse said pointing at his paper. "You drew all of those circles correctly." The kid looked up at him as if he was just realizing who, or what, he was talking to. Alphonse held out his big armoured hand. "Hi I am Alphonse Elric, Edward's younger brother." The kid took it and shook it firmly.

"Neville, Neville Longbottom," he gasped. After taking a moment of awe in , he turned back to his homework and sighed. "I guess you wouldn't understand then."

"Why would you say that?" Alphonse said a little taken aback by the kid's statement.

"Well, you guys are cool, and geniuses. You know everything, I don't know anything," Neville mumbled. Alphonse placed a cold metal hand on his shoulder. He guessed it wasn't that very comforting, but Neville didn't seem to mind.

"If you wanted to know, geniuses specialize. I don't know much about anything other than alchemy. It was wall me and my brother studied for years. You are probably a genius too, you just haven't found your subject yet," Alphonse said. Neville sniffled a bit but it seemed it was alright. The kid beamed up at him and gave a shy smile. "So, do you like alchemy?" Alphonse asked him as he returned to drawing the circles. He nodded quietly and returned back to his work. Seeing no other answer come from him, Alphonse picked his book back up and started to read again. He got a few mages into it until Neville asked him another question.

"Why do you wear armour?" Neville asked innocently. Alphonse sighed and placed the book down on the table. This question was inevitable to almost everyone. However, since he didn't know, Alphonse was glad to hear that the three kids from before didn't tell anyone about Ed's automail.

"The girls love armour," Alphonse played him. The kid just glared at him demanding a real answer. "Fine," Alphonse sighed. "I wear it because…. Because I had an accident a few years ago and... my body was damaged," he said. Neville seemed satisfied with the answer but like every kid, was probably pondering the events. Both of them went back to their work. "You know, I wasn't lying with the first answer," Alphonse added. The both of them chuckled together.

…..

Alphonse stepped into the Alchemy classroom the next day during the third year class. He knew that it wasn't proper to interrupt a class in the middle of a lesson, but he thought that Edward would have made an exception. Madam Pince finally kicked Edward out of the library for too much reading. She actually told him that he should go outside and get some fresh air instead of read all day, quote the librarian. All of the students looked up at him in surprise and watched him carefully as he made his way over to his brother. Neville gave a small wave to him. Alphonse wished he could smile back, but he gave an acknowledging wave back to him.

"Al, what are you doing here? I thought you were in the library again," Edward asked him. He was in the middle of drawing a specialized evaporation circle on the board, but set down the chalk to talk to Al.

"she kicked me out. Could I stay here for a little bit?" he asked his brother.

"Why would you even need to ask? Of course Al! You could actually take a seat right over there if you like," Edward said motioning to his own desk. "I was showing them how to change the state of water. You could help if you like." Alphonse nodded at him and took a seat in the small chair. It creaked under his weight but Edward didn't seem to notice. Some of the other kids started to whisper back and forth amongst themselves instead of copying the notes that Edward was writing on the board. Al felt a bit guilty about that. He felt even worse when the students started to ask questions.

"Who is he?" a slytherin girl asked and pointed a finger at Alphonse. He twiddled his thumbs nervously and Edward looked over his shoulder at the kid.

"Alphonse, my younger brother. He was here for winter break and decided to stay a little longer for research," Edward said and continued to draw the circle on the board.

"but he's so tall, and you're so….." a Gryffindor student started to say. Alphonse saw Edward starting to head for the young girl, and bolted out of his seat. He pulled his angry brother back away from the students before he could do anything stupid. The girl looked absolutely frightened. Alphonse set his brother down in the seat that he once occupied and apologized to the class.

"Sorry, he gets like that," Alphonse said. The class seemed to nod their heads as if they knew that would have happened. "I am taller because…. I am a giant! I have a… growth defect that made me abnormally tall." Alphonse said. He didn't want to deny the class with an answer so he made something up off of the top of his head. This seemed to settle Edward's nerves down because instead of calling him short, Alphonse was calling himself tall. The class mumbled to each other for a bit.

"Why do you wear armour?" another kid said. That was probably going to be his most frequently asked question and he knew it. Before he could answer though, Neville shot up defensively.

"Because it's cool why else?" he said. The class looked at the kid and Neville immediately shot back down in his seat beet red with embarrassment. Alphonse let out a chuckle.

"Yup, in my country this is the height of fashion," Alphonse joked. Edward looked over at him questionably and almost seemed to laugh. Some of the students realized what he was doing, but others thought that Alphonse was dead serious. They whispered back and forth at each other and some gave a few oohs and awes. Edward stood up from his seat and patted Al on the shoulder.

"I think you can handle this class," Edward said to him and walked to the back of the class to watch. Alphonse stood nervously at the front of the room twiddling his thumbs. He was not used to being the authority figure. It was always his brother or their teacher, even Mr. Mustang sometimes, but not him. Edward gave a little motions with his hands begging him to continue. Alphonse glanced up at the board. That was a water transmutation circle. That's alchemy. He knew alchemy!

"So, who wants some noodles?" Alphonse asked the class. They glanced at him awkwardly.

….

Harry walked out of Alchemy class with a bowl of hot steaming noodles that they made themselves. Alphonse taught them how to boil the water with the transmutation circle and then had a house elf bring boxes of noodles for them. Everyone in the class was excited to be able to apply the transmutations to something, especially when that something was food. Harry walked with Ron and Hermione down towards the Transfigurations classroom. They were also eating their own bowls of noodles, some hotter than others, but the two of them were not speaking to each other. Hermione's cat recently devoured Scabbers and neither of them were able to apologize for it. Harry rolled his eyes as he caught the two of them glaring at each other. Why did he always got stuck in the middle?

"Harry?" McGonogall's voice rang out of her room as they passed. He back tracked a few steps so that he stood in the door way. McGonagall was already walking over to him holding a long package. She handed to him rather eagerly. "It has been fully searched and no curses were found on it. I think that you have some very fine friends indeed for sending you one of these," she said and couldn't seem to keep the joy out of her voice. "I hope that you will be able to ride it tomorrow at the meet right? I want to show those Ravenclaws whose going to win the house cup this year!" she said giddily. Harry took the broom a bit awkwardly from his teacher.

"Uh, Thanks professor," he replied.

"Potter, I know that you have been taking those patronus lessons but I want you to go one more time tonight. I think that it won't hurt to have an extra go. Dumbledore made sure to warn the ministry and the creatures what the consequences would be if this happened again, but it is just in case. With your new broom, I think that you will have a better shot at that snitch this time around!" Harry nodded to her. He knew the Firebolt was amazing but he didn't know that McGonagal, one of the strictest teachers at Hogwarts, would get so worked up over it. With a thankful smile he turned to leave but Minivera called out again. "What are you doing with bowls of noodles?"

….

Alphonse and his brother stood in the rear hall even paces apart. Since it was still cold outside, they were using the hall to duel each other. There they weren't disturbed since the students didn't really like to study in it. They said that it was too dark and empty, Alphonse actually found it quite charming with the ancient architecture. Edward ran up to him and swung his left leg around towards him, Alphonse blocked it with his steel forearm. Edward was getting tired like he usually did. Alphonse knew he was going to win, they both knew it, but they fought anyways. Edward tumbled to the ground with the rebound and leaped back with his right fist going for his shoulder. Al caught his arm and held him there. Edward tried kicking him to make him let him go, but since his feet were at least two feet in the air, he couldn't get enough force behind it to do any damage. Alphonse laughed at his struggling brother.

"Hey! Why do you find this funny?" Edward scolded him. His elder brother for some reason always acted less mature than he did. Probably due to his short ego. Just as Alphonse was about to comment, the door to the Rear hall opened and Lupin stepped through carrying a large chest, Harry pulling up the rear. Remus looked a little startled to see him there but continued to the center of the room.

"Hello Professor!" Alphonse chimed in his childish voice. He gave them a wave and set down the chest.

"Hello Alphonse, how has the studying been going?" he asked him casually. Alphonse gave him a shrug. To tell the truth, the library's Alchemy texts were really slim. The most information that they received was actually from the chocolate frog card. He spent a lot of his time researching for Hagrid's case. He didn't get to talk a lot to the big man, but considering how much people were willing to help him, he figured that he would try too.

"Not too well, I am thinking about going to go back home and maybe look into the purification arts. That seems interesting." Lupin didn't know what he was talking about but gave a sympathetic nod.

"It sure is going to be lonely here without you. I heard that you have been talking to Neville a lot lately in the library. It seems that he has taken a liking to you. I would make sure to give him a farewell before you leave."

"Will do," Alphonse replied. Harry walked up behind Lupin as if to get the conversation moving a bit. Lupin noticed him and remembered the reason why they were there in the first place.

"Ah, Edward!" he said snapping his fingers. "I was hoping to use the Rear Hall for Harry's Patronus lessons. I wanted to do it away from your corridor so you wouldn't have to worry about the boggart escaping again." Edward shifted a little nervously, but that was a little hard since he was still two feet off of the ground. Alphonse realized this and sent him down gently. He forgot that he was still holding him.

"I thought that you were done for this week," Edward said shakily trying to advert his attention from the trembling box.

"Professor McGonagall wanted me to give it one more go just in case they reappear again tomorrow," Harry answered. "I don't want to be completely defenseless again when I am flying above the field. You won't be refereeing this time either to catch me." Edward chuckled a bit remembering how successful his catch was. Having two bodies tumble down several stories was not what he planned.

"Well that makes one of us," he replied.

"Right, you can't do magic….." Harry said a little awkwardly. Just then the box gave another shudder. Alphonse looked at it curiously, but Edward shifted a bit away from it. He started to push Alphonse towards the door. Harry and Remus watched as Edward tried to push his struggling brother out the door for a hasty escape.

"It was nice chatting with you, but I am afraid we have plenty of things to do this weekend, I just can't talk any longer," Edward said quickly as he shoved the reluctant suit of armor through the doorway. He was about to close the large piece of oak but Lupin stopped the door with his foot and grabbed his wrist.

"You know there are ways to defeat fear," Remus said to him. Edward glanced past the door at the chest which gave another shudder. He nervously looked back at the teacher. Edward desperately wanted to walk out of there as fast as he could but his brother gave him a little shove in the back. Running away wasn't an option for him anymore. Remus guided Edward back to the room and started to clear the space from furniture. It was as if the chest was anticipating its next project and the boggart was trying to break free. Edward kept a good pace away from the box. Alphonse heard about what the boggart was when Edward explained it to him through the letters, but he didn't really know what to expect. He didn't even hear about the incident earlier that week until Remus warned him to stay out of the corridors in the later evenings. However, anything that could disseat his brother this much, was nothing to be taken lightly. Alphonse made sure to place himself in between him and the box whenever they moved the furniture out of the way. The tables and chairs were lined on the sides of the walls out of the way, and the chest was placed in the middle of the long rectangular room. The four of them stood around the boggart nervously.

"Okay," Remus said stepping forward to face his students and peers. "The boggart is not fear, it is a reenactment of fear. A formation of what it believes would scare you the most."

"But sir, how does it know what we are afraid of?" Alphonse asked him.

"It is a creature, and as we know, all creatures have different senses. Humans reek of fear. Even in our happiest moments our fears can be portrayed over us in an invisible veil. The boggarts are able to feel our fears and play them out bright as day," Lupin informed him. Edward glanced up at Alphonse nervously. He nodded at his older brother to try and comfort him a bit. Remus walked over to the chest and crouched behind the lid. "There are ways that muggles can fight the boggarts. Laughter of course is one of the strongest weapons against the boggart, but there are some precautions that can be taken. In old folk lore it is said that the boggart will not approach salt and horse shoes will ward them away. That of course is muggle folk lore, but we cannot deny it as false until it is proven so." The professor looked up at Edward and smiled. "I want you to picture your fear as the funniest thing imaginable, anything funny at all. If you run into trouble, don't worry. The Boggart is easily confused in numbers so we are here to help you. Now everyone back up a bit."

Harry and Alphonse crept back a few feet leaving Edward shaking a bit in the center. Lupin popped the locks on the chest but pinned the lid down against the fighting creature. He looked up at the young blonde for any sign and with Edward's nod, he released the beast. Instantly the creature flew out of the chest towards him. The tentacles started to wrap themselves on his arms and legs and Edward froze in panic. He fought and struggled against the creepy being but he couldn't picture anything. As he was started to be pulled towards the chest, Alphonse stepped in front of him and ripped the spindly arms off of him. He picked up his brother and nearly tossed him away from the creature. Edward tumbled to the ground near Harry's feet, his body trembling. The boggart turned towards Alphonse and rapidly started to change its form. A spider, a banshee, a zombie, a ghost, the form rapidly started to change as if it couldn't decide. Alphonse just looked at the confused creature until it stopped. Its transformation stopped short on a yellow and red clad figure. In an instant Lupin waved his wand and the boggart was shot back into the chest. The lock clicked and nearly everyone sighed with relief. Harry bent down and helped Edward up to his feet. It was a fairly difficult task seeing as it seemed that Edward's automail seemed to be giving out again. He was really heavy for his size. Remus walked over to Alphonse who was shaking in his armor.

"Alphonse," he said sympathetically. The armour nervously looked at him, but before he could answer, Edward interrupted.

"Al, is that what you are afraid of?" he asked him. "Are you afraid of me?" The box gave another shudder as Alphonse faced his brother. Harry held him up one arm hung over his shoulder and his face was beaded with a cold sweat. He shook his head.

"No, I am not…. I …. I… I don't want to lose you again!" Alphonse cried. "Not again! When Gluttony ate…. And then Ling…. I ….. I-"

"Alphonse, I am sorry," Edward said, "I am sorry I let that happen." Alphonse ran over and hugged Edward. It nearly squeezed the life out of him, but he didn't care. If that was what it took to comfort his brother, then that was what he was going to do. After Alphonse let Edward go, and after he regained his breath, Remus walked over to them quietly.

"I am guessing that there is something that can't be laughed at," he said to them softly. "If you don't want to continue, then I won't make you. I just thought that it would have been worth a shot."

"No, I want to continue. I don't want to have to worry about running into one of these again. If I can face it at least, then I know I won't be afraid," Edward said. Alphonse nodded.

"I don't want to worry either," Alphonse added. Remus patted him on the shoulder a hollow ring rang out through his armor. He walked back behind the chest and crouched behind it as he did before.

"Why don't we try the other methods?" Remus said and pulled out a sack of white powder. When Alphonse caught it, he saw that it was table salt. "The house elves were nice enough to give that to me. However, dinner might be a little dry for the rest of the week." Edward took a handful of the substance and turned towards the chest. Remus unleashed the creature one more time and the boggart charged him. Edward tried to move but his arm wouldn't react. The arms wrapped themselves around him again and he tried to pry them off. The salt fell out of his hands in his struggle and scattered to the floor around the boggarts feet. There was a small sizzle noise and the creature reeled back a little as if the salt burned it. However, the reaction was shortly lived as the boggart jumped over the scattered material and tackled him to the ground. The twisted and gnarled bones twisted around him as the tentacles wrapped themselves around his chest. Edward screamed as they tightened around him. Alphonse ran over and tossed his hand of salt on the boggart. It jumped back and dropped the alchemist to the ground. As it faced Alphonse, it tried to change but he started to push it back towards the chest. Just as they reached the box, the boggart transformed into a placid copy of his brother. His hair was coated in crimson and his arms were drenched with blood. Alphonse took a step back from him, and faltered a bit, but he threw another blast of salt in its face. The creature tumbled backwards into the chest and Alphonse slammed the lid shut. Remus ran over and clicked the lock shut. Harry rushed over to Edward to see if he was okay. It looked like he was thrown into shock again.

"Professor!" Harry cried. Remus ran over to Edward who was shivering on the floor. Alphonse ran over to check on his brother. As he fiddled over the trembling child, Alphonse pushed him out of the way. He grabbed his brother by the jacket and slapped him in the face.

"Snap out of it you idiot!" Alphonse raged. Edward slowly raised his hand to touch his stricken cheek. To the wizards' surprise, that seemed to work. "You know that wasn't real! We promised ourselves never again! It isn't real!" Edward grabbed a hold of his brother's chest plate and held it firmly. He still shivered a bit but it wasn't trauma. Remus got up and clapped his hands together.

"Well, it looked like the muggles were right in one thing. Salt seems to effect the boggarts after all, however the horseshoe thing still is at question."

"NO!" Edward and Al said together. Remus held his hands up in defeat. Alphonse helped his brother off of the floor. The lot of them slowly made their way over to the door. As they passed the chest, the boggart gave a jump and the box clattered around the floor threatening Edward didn't flinch but he did seem to hurry his pace up a bit more. They walked through the door and entered the DADA classroom for a break. Lupin sat the Elrics down at a couple of desks and gave them each a cup of tea. Harry sat down across from them and watched the adrenaline filled teachers as they trembled in their seats. Of course it wasn't his fears that they were facing, but the creature that the boggart turned into was still terrifying as if it was picked out of a horror film. How could the boggart be afraid of them, if they are afraid of something like that? They heard the chest gave a leap from the other room and Lupin locked the door to the Rear Hall just in case.

"Excuse me, Professor," Harry said to Edward. He didn't like tea all that much but was trying to take a sip. The cup was trembling in his hand a bit and clacked against the coaster when he set it down. "It seemed, well, we thought that it seemed that the boggart was afraid of you. We were wondering….. How could that be?"

"Wait are you trying to tell me that that thing is afraid of us?" Alphonse asked them.

"It is just a hypothesis, but boggarts don't attack people normally. It is used as a defensive mechanism to try and to frighten people away, not hurt them. However, the creatures, whenever it approaches Edward, seems to attack him. I was wondering if you knew anything that caused that," Remus said pouring himself a cup of tea. Edward glanced over at Alphonse.

"Did it seem afraid of Al?" he asked questionably. Remus shook his head.

"Only confused. I am guessing that it was the armor. Remember that the Boggart is able to sense things given off by the human body, maybe the armor was interfering." Edward knew that it wasn't the armour, but the fact that he didn't have a body. He couldn't give off as strong senses without it so that is why the boggart would have been confused. Edward thought for a second. Animals could sense things, boggarts could sense things. Why would it be afraid of something that happened? Dogs always seemed to pounce him, he always thought that they were just trying to get him away from work. It could have meant something more….

"Alphonse, do you think that it could have sensed… no…" Edward mumbled to himself, "No that couldn't be it."

"What brother?" Alphonse asked reassuring him. Edward took another sip of his tea and shivered.

"Do you think that it could have sensed Truth?" Edward asked almost inaudibly.

"No, well, I saw it too. Wouldn't it be afraid of me as well?" he said. Edward thought about his for a while leaving Harry and Remus completely clueless.

"Do you think that it could have sensed that I actually made a deal with it? Or would that seem too farfetched. I mean, you never actually made a deal with him yet. I did, and look where it got us. Maybe it could sense the past as well. How else could it have known what I was afraid of? It isn't every day you come across that," Edward said. Alphonse nodded and handed Edward his cup of tea.

"Well, it is just a hypothesis, but maybe," Alphonse said. As the two of them talked back and forth about possibilities, Harry and Remus got more and more lost. They started to regret asking the two scientists. It seemed that they were all lost in creating hypothesis. Never ask a scientist a question unless you want them to get an exact answer. Before the hour passed, Remus stepped forward to stop the twos brainstorming.

"What are you two talking about?" he asked them. "Truth?" Edward and Alphonse looked at each other as if they nearly forgot that they were there and shrugged.

"If you want some of the story Remus, I would go ask Severus, but I will make you swear to secrecy. None of the students should hear this," Edward said and glanced at Harry, "This includes you Harry. Somethings are too delicate for you to handle right now. However, Al and I have come up with a hypothesis about the Boggart problem. It seemed that the Boggart was able to sense somethings and pull a few memories from our pasts. That is how it knew I was afraid of that. It must have saw something that it didn't like and frightened it."

"But what was it that it was afraid of?" Harry asked nervously.

"I can't answer that, one thing, you will think that we were crazy, and the other, it might frighten you as well, but I will say that this thing, known as Truth, could be described as our own personal hell."


	15. The Game of Truth

**Okay here is my next chapter like I promised. YAY! In reponse to a few of your reviews and wuestions, I would like to say that Izumi is coming in the next book, sorry for all of you who were excited for her visit, but too many visitors can make things confusing. As for my after school activities... I play the tenor saxophone in the school's small jazz combo. We had a concert friday night. Pretty rocking. and I used to dance when I was little but don't anymore. I am afraid that my size 11 feet started tripping over eachother and got in the way... Well Anyway. I am glad for all of your reviews. Thankyou so much. And I hope you enjoy this chapter. If you want the status of my chapter progress, I post some on my profile page so you know when the next chapter might or might not be out. Hope you like the read.**

CHAPTER 15

The Game of Truth

Edward and Alphonse didn't stay around for the dementor lesson. They pictured that the boggart needed a rest from them in order for Harry to be able to battle it. After the exhausting evening, they just went back to their chambers. Alphonse always liked to see himself in the portrait waving back at him. The Colonel looked mad about something, but Edward said that he was always mad. After changing into some night clothes, Edward took a dose of dream draught. After what they experienced that day, he knew it was for the better that he took it again. Luckily Poppy and Severus always were glad to give him some, something about waking the students or causing panic. Edward lazily walked into bed and Alphonse took a seat against the opposite wall to give his brother some space. He didn't say much after they left the DADA classroom.

"Alphonse, is everything okay?" Edward asked his quiet brother. The suit of armor just nodded quietly and he shrugged. Edward leaned over to turn off the oil lamp but Alphonse stopped him.

"Edward, c-could….could you…." Alphonse started but then stopped. Edward sat back up and looked across the chamber at him.

"What Alphonse?" he asked softly. The armour twiddled its thumbs a bit embarrassed.

"Could you stay up with me?" Alphonse whispered. Edward looked at him. Alphonse never asked him to stay up before. Since he never slept it was kind of hard for someone to do, but that might have been exactly it. He couldn't sleep, he couldn't take the dream draught, he could only think, and he was probably stuck thinking about the boggart. Edward nodded gently and got out of bed to sit next to his brother. Of course the bed was soft and comfortable compared to the stone floor and the cold metal of the armour, but Edward ignored it. It was as if the soul trapped inside it was all the more comforting than a plush bed. He leaned his head on the arc of his brother's chest plate. He didn't know how long he could stay up since he was dead tired from the exhausting evening, but he would try. Alphonse's armour gave a small shudder.

"Alphonse, remember that one time….." Edward continued. The both of them talked about some fun memorable events to try and pass the time. Alphonse seemed to calm down a bit and they laughed softly at their memories. The night wore on and the conversations became slower and softer when the first light of day struck the horizons. Alphonse looked down at his brother, who must have fallen asleep only a couple minutes ago. His head was draped over his steel lap and his body was resting comfortably against his armour. Alphonse lightly put a hand around him. His brother would never leave him.

…..

"So he wouldn't tell you?" Ron asked Harry in the Great Hall during breakfast, Harry was all dressed for his quidditch meet that day. He made sure to stick his wand in the sleeve of his robe just in case he needed to cast a patronus. Harry nodded and shoveled a couple scoops of eggs on his plate.

"Yeah, he was talking about something called Truth and said that the boggart could have sense something he did or something. He told Lupin to talk to Snape about the details," Harry mumbled shoving a spoon of food into his mouth. Ron groaned.

"Why does it always end up with Snape? Why not Hagrid or someone else?" Ron stated flatly. Harry shrugged as Hermione gruffly sat down at the table next to him.

"I thought it would be obvious," She said to Harry. "Hagrid couldn't keep a secret and Edward obviously didn't want anyone to tell."

"But what could he be hiding that is so bad that no one should know about it?" Ron asked her. Hermione growled at the red head menacingly. They still weren't talking about the events with their pets. Ron was still upset that Scabbers was devoured and Hermione could barely stand sitting at the same table as him, but for Harry's sake they tried to make due.

"Well, I want to know," Harry told them. "Other than knowing he comes from another country and has weird metal limbs and a brother in armour, what do we really know about him? What if all he told us was a lie?"

"We should just trust him," Hermione scolded him. "If he would have thought that we needed to know he would have told us."

"But-" just then the doors to the Great Hall opened and Edward came stumbling in with his brother. He looked dead tired as he trudged his feet across the floor. Alphonse was basically carrying him as he guided the tired Elric towards the tables. However, it seemed that he couldn't make it to the teachers' table all the way at the front of the hall and collapsed in the chair next to Ron. Alphonse helped his zombie like brother get situated before sitting down next to him. Edward was slouched over the table completely limp. They would have thought he was dead if it weren't for the shallow breaths coming from his body.

"Are you alright Edward?" Hermione asked him, but he didn't respond. Ron poked him with his spoon. Edward's right hand shot up and snatched the silverware from his hands. With a twitch of his finger, he bent the spoon in half and slammed it back on the table. Edward's body resumed its limp state across the table leaving three shocked students in its wake. Alphonse chuckled and picked up the mangled spoon.

"Sorry about that," he said as he bent it back to its former position. "I had Brother stay up with me last night after our boggart lessons. He is just tired." Ron took his spoon back nervously and scooted a few inches away from the blonde alchemist.

"I would hate to be the person who wakes him up in the morning," Ron commented and started to shovel food back into his mouth. Alphonse put a few spoonfuls of eggs onto a plate and set it before his brother and poured a goblet for him. The steamy smell of the food must have awakened Edward's senses and got his attention. He slowly lifted his tired head off of the table and grabbed the plate defensively pulling it close to him. With a tired hand he ate a few bites of the meal.

"Professor, I was wondering," Harry said to the young alchemist. Edward gave a grunt of acknowledgement and picked up his cup. "I was wondering if you could tell us what that thing was that the boggart turned into last night." Edward nearly choked on his drink and spat out the white liquid. It sprayed and coated the table. The startled teacher looked up at his brother fully awake from the shock.

"Al! Are you trying to poison me?" Edward cried. Alphonse shook his head innocently.

"Brother, it is only milk!"

"That's the same thing!" Edward complained. Alphonse knew his brother's hatred for milk more than anyone, but he knew that his body also needed it. Over the years Al was afraid that Edward was Calcium deficient and was another reason that he was not growing any taller. He was hoping that Edward was too tired to realize that he was drinking the white cow juice but it turned out he wasn't.

"Come on Brother, you need to drink it sometime!" Alphonse pushed him and inched the cup a little bit towards his brother. Edward slouched down and set his head on the table to glare at the goblet menace. He dropped any complaints about the drink but didn't make any move to pick it up. Alphonse let out a tired sigh.

"Um, Professor….." Hermione cried. Edward averted his attention from his nemesis to look at the girl. She was completely coated with milk having taken the full blast of Edward's rejection of the liquid. He let out a tiny chuckle and clapped his hands to clean the milk off of her clothes and hair.

"About that question Harry," Edward said putting another spoon of eggs in his mouth. "I will have to deny you an answer. Fear is nothing that you should be meddling with. I am afraid of that for a reason and that reason is my own. It is the reason why I don't go asking Ron here why he is so deathly afraid of spiders," he said jabbing the utensil in the ginger's direction. The boy nearly choked on his breakfast food.

"You know about that?" Ron asked him.

"Well, I am afraid that everyone knows about it since your explosion in the green houses when one snuck up on you during herbology. Sprout told me all about it. However, knowing what your fears is, is different than knowing why you are afraid of it. I don't know why you are afraid of spiders and I won't ask," Edward said to him. Ron's face turned bright red matching his flaming red hair. Alphonse chuckled at his change in colour.

"But Professor, we don't even know what that thing was that the boggart turned into and you already know what ours is," Harry pushed him, but Edward stopped him from continuing.

"Harry, no matter how much I would love to tell you," he said sarcastically, "I can't. It is something children should not know about. I am afraid that it would just be too much for you."

"But you are only two years older than us!" Harry exclaimed. "And I think that the three of us have already dealt with a lot as it is considering Voldemorts been prowling around the place for the past two years!" Ron flinched at the name of the wizard and Harry and Edward rolled their eyes at him.

"And I am the Fullmetal Alchemist," Edward stated flatly. "What is your point? Two years is still older than you and I am also a teacher. I think that I do have a right to call you children and keep my private information to myself. Having a crazy ass serial killer and mass murderer coming after you happens every other week in my field." The three students looked at each other astonished. Alphonse gave them a soft nod of reassurance. For once his brother was not over exaggerating. The table, after officially being denied an answer, went back to eating in silence. After a while, Wood came over to them and pulled Harry away for his meet. Ron and Hermione got up to follow. Alphonse stood up as well, but noticed that his brother fell asleep at the table again. He poked him awake and Edward lashed out in fury of being disturbed.

"Come on brother, the meet is about to start," Alphonse informed him. Edward calmed down and led his younger brother out to the field. It was his first quidditch match after all.

….

Alphonse sat down eagerly in the stands. He was anxious to watch the meet since it wasn't every day that he or his brother took off work to watch a sport, not to mention a flying sport. They were sitting in the Gryffindor section of the stands with Ron, Hermione, and Neville. Though Alphonse sort of wanted to sit next to the nervous Longbottom, he was forced to act as a barrier between Ron and Hermione who's hatred seemed to have gotten worse since they got out there. The early spring afternoon was cold but not too bad that Edward couldn't sleep through it. Alphonse's older brother was leaning unconsciously against Ron's shoulder fast asleep. The announcer started up and the whistle blew. All students on their broomsticks shot off into the air with dangerous speed. Alphonse was amazed at how smooth their rides were. When he pictured people flying on broomsticks he thought of them jumping up and down through the air or something trying to catch air currents. Of course the only information of the sport was through the letters of Edward's firsthand experience, and with what the Weasley twins told him during one of their classes, Alphonse knew that it was probably the worst place to get flying information from. Harry seemed to be one of the fastest out there zooming around on the broom he was supposedly given for Christmas. Hermione seemed a little bit tense as she watched him fly around. He guessed that it was because of the fall that he had the last match. The game went on for a while and Gryffindor seemed to be winning but not by much as Ravenclaw scored another couple goals. Just as the purple clad team was about to catch up with the red, Alphonse saw three oddly dressed figures down on the field. They were all of varying sizes and were wearing weird black tattered robes and hoods. The stands went quiet as everyone's attention drew to the three figures. Edward's snoring could be heard throughout the stadium. However, just at the peak of the moment, Harry zoomed by and a strange white light illuminated out from him. The three figures toppled over in fright and the whistle sounded for the end of the game. Harry caught the snitch immediately after the spell was casted. The crowd busted up in joyous shouts and Edward, who was leaning against his now cheering pillow, fell over backwards with his lack of balance. He jolted up from his position on the ground to see where the ring of players were all gathering around to have a victory huddle. Alphonse pointed down towards the three creatures who were stumbling away off of the field.

"Brother, are those dementors?" he asked innocently. Edward turned his attention to the three figures who looked like they were tripping over their robes. He spotted a bright white sneaker pop out from the bottom of one of the robes.

"No Al, those are a couple of students who will be seeing the inside of my office pretty soon," he gritted through his teeth. He clapped his hands and made a ramp out of the stands to the ground and slid down in. Alphonse followed just for the sake of it and reverted the stand back to its original self after reaching the bottom. His brother was already chasing down the three robed students as they struggled to flee under the bulk of their costumes. Edward tackled the shortest one to the ground and ripped off the hood. "Draco, this is probably one of the dumbest most stupid ideas anyone could have thought of!" Edward scolded the kid and gripped him by the collar of the robes. The two large boys looked like they wanted to run for it but Alphonse stood in their way and pushed them towards the gathering crowd of teachers. McGonagal looked pissed at the Slytherin's attempt of sabotage while the other teachers, even Severus just looked disgusted.

"I can't believe that you three would go and do something so… so foolish! Fifty points from Slytherin! Complete lack of respect and you could have been seriously injured! I have never been so insulted!" Minivera raged. Remus placed a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her but she stormed off towards the castle seething. "Severus you deal with these buffoons!" The potions master and head of Slytherin house looked down at his students and grimaced. They were screwed.

"I was thinking detention for two weeks," Severus said casually, his eyes were glinting mischievously at Edward. Edward passed the look onto his younger brother.

"Hey Al, how does a month sound to you?" Edward grinned. Alphonse would have smiled. He knew what his brother was doing. The three Slytherins shifted around nervously in their robes and Al laughed harshly.

"I think a month sounds perfect," he replied darkly. The sound of his deep threatening voice almost sent the slytherins off running again. To say that Gryffindors and Slytherins were opposites was a complete understatement in Alphonse's mind. These boys had no back bone. Edward started to march the boys towards the castle.

…

Edward held the first detention that very afternoon in his office. The three boys stood tiredly in the back of the classroom writing lines until their arms hurt. Edward actually didn't see the use of writing lines because he guessed that they already learned their lesson after having a spell casted at them by Harry,  
but he loved to watch them as they tried to keep their hands going after the 5000th line. Draco moaned as he rubbed his sore arm tiredly.

"Keep it up Draco, you are only halfway there," Edward said as he read his notebook over again. Alphonse walked into the classroom carrying a few papers and a pouch that he used for traveling. Since he didn't have the need of clothes or essentials, Al used it to put money or trinkets in it. Edward stood up to greet his brother. "So you are going home tonight?" he asked him after giving his brother a hug. Alphonse took a seat at one of the desks and spread out his papers.

"Yeah, I just need to get my paper work done. You know how it is crossing the borders and stuff, especially in this armour and all. Need to ID every scratch on me," Alphonse answered. Edward sat down next to him and handed his brother a quill to sign the forms and things. Al, having overly large hands and a poor sense of writing, made two big swirly loops where ever he needed to sign his name. It barely fit on the line that he was given.

"What are you going to do when you get back?" Edward asked him.

"The same as usual. Research and stuff, but I think that I will pick up that lead on the Purification arts. I think Mustang said something about a few Xingese travelers like Ling going around. I might start there," Alphonse said. The quill and chalk scribbles and scratches were the only thing heard in the room.

"Al, promise that you will write somehow? I don't want to lose contact again. Even if you have to give your letters to the Colonel in order to send them, I want you to do it. At least until we figure out what has been happening to them." His brother nodded and then finished the last signature on his letter. He packed up his papers into his small pouch and stood up from the desk to leave.

"Don't worry brother, Everything will be alright. I will make sure the letters get to you," Alphonse said cheerfully. "Just make sure you keep up with your automail. I don't want Winry to hit me with another wrench as well as you." They chuckled and Alphonse went off towards the door. He gave one last wave to his brother before exiting the classroom. Edward waved back pathetically. He hated that he was being left again. It seemed worse that he knew that he was trapped there. His teaching position put him so far away from home that it seemed that he would never go back. Edward glanced up at the wall of portraits that he had. Alphonse was sitting in one of them looking back at him happily waving. Edward was wondering why it was doing that but then realized that his arm was still waving at the empty doorway. A little embarrassed with himself, Edward shoved his hand back into his pocket. The sound of chalk died down and the room was left in a depth of silence. "Keep writing," Edward commanded the three slytherins. They scrambled with their chalk. Draco however, wasn't in as much of a rush as his friends were. He looked at Edward for a few moments before slowly picking his chalk back up. After Edward finally dismissed the three of them to go back to their common room, Goyle and Crabbe hobbled out of the room with their cramping arms. Edward sat at his desk and wrote a letter to his commanding officer telling him about the missing letters. Draco walked up slowly to his desk and sat down in a seat opposite of it. "What do you want," Edward grumbled at him. Draco fumbled a bit with his fingers.

"I-I wanted to say that I am sorry about the match," Draco gritted out through his teeth. "I shouldn't have tried to scare Harry after the last time."

"I would say so," Edward said not looking up from his writing. "You got the shit knocked out of you instead with that spell and all, but that was not what you wanted to talk to me about is it?" he questioned the boy. After finishing another line, Edward looked up to the blonde boy but no one was there.

…

Minivera invited Edward to Gryffiindor tower that evening for a get together to celebrate the quidditch victory over Ravenclaw, but Edward declined. He was tired as it was staying up with his brother the other night and then having detention all he could think about was a nice night's sleep. After finishing the letter to the Colonel and sending it off with Scops, who was a little reluctant due to the hour, Edward headed off down the corridor towards his chambers. The DADA tower was quiet and empty since Harry didn't have a patronus lesson that evening. As he passed down through the dark armoury he heard a few scuffle noises coming from the shadows. Edward looked to his right and saw a dark lumpy figure beneath a suit of armor. He walked closer to it and saw two eyes poking out of the darkness. His breath caught in his throat as he slowly transmuted his arm into a blade.

"MEOW!" the cat belched and lollied on its way down the hall. Edward fell over backwards a bit frightened of the thing. Crookshanks was out and around again prowling the castle. He seriously wondered if Hermione ever worried about it at all, letting it run around like it did. After regaining his senses, Edward returned his arm back to normal and continued down the corridor. As he was about to turn into the Gunhilda Gorsemore corridor, Lupin raced around the corner and nearly ran into him.

"Oh! Sorry Edward! I was actually looking for you," Lupin said to him and brushed off the boy's red coat. "by god, it looks like you saw a ghost." Edward did feel that way after the cat scared the daylights out of him and then nearly being run over the next second.

"It was nothing," Edward mumbled pinching the bridge of his nose in concentration. "What did you want again?" he asked him. Remus walked him over to one of the nearby benches to sit down.

"I wanted to tell you that it took a little convincing, but I asked Severus like you told me too. I heard the story," Lupin said to him. Edward gave a tired nod in his direction.

"So, now you get it. The boggart was the thing that me and my brother created. If my brother wasn't there at the lesson, I wouldn't have been able to face it. He was always stronger than me in the face of fear, but that was because his devotion to living is greater than mine," Edward said. His eyes felt tired as he looked at the professor. The moonlight shone in the man's yellow eyes and glittered with emotions of all sorts.

"Don't worry about it. You're strong enough as it is. To be able to say yes when I asked you to face the boggart was a great enough feat. I couldn't do it if I was asked," Lupin said to him. They sat there in the quiet hallway for a little longer staring at the stone floor beneath their feet. "Edward," Remus started up again. "I only think that it is fair to tell you one of my secrets as well. It isn't right that you are the only one giving them away. All of the faculty knows anyway about this."

"That you are a werewolf?" Edward stated shyly. Remus looked at him with surprise. "Yeah, Severus told me after the I went down to the cellars in search of oil for my automail….. Well, he didn't directly tell me. He just told me that he thought I was one as well. It was Hermione that confirmed my suspicions. I had no clue what a werewolf was before that though."

"Hermione is smarter than I let on," Remus chuckled a bit.

"So I am guessing that your boggart was the moon," Edward added and he received a nod in return.

"Yes, I am not so afraid of the moon itself just that I might hurt someone when it comes along. Fear is only held in the eyes of its owner."

"Yeah, but mine can scare the shit out of anyone," Edward mumbled. "I just don't want you to tell anyone. Most people, well, most people would think that I am a monster for doing such a thing, and Al, well, I don't want anything more to happen to him. Can you just keep it quiet. Not even the rest of the faculty. I don't want to frighten Poppy or anyone away." Remus gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. I don't consider you a monster, I mean look at me. Humans are all monsters in their own sense and to call another one that is degrading to their own self pride. Your secret is safe with me." Edward nodded and slowly stood up from the bench he was sitting on and yawned. It was getting late. After saying farewell to Remus, Edward slowly made his way over to his chambers. He was due for a long nights sleep.

…..

Edward was changed into his shorts and laid down for a nights rest. His eyes just fluttered closed when a pounding came from outside his chamber portrait. He lazily got up and shuffled his uneven feet across the ground. The portrait opened to reveal a worried looking group of teachers staring back at him. Unfortunately for him, they were all the female teachers….. and he wasn't wearing a shirt. McGonagall averted her eyes from him, Sprout and Aurora giggled a bit at the child's blushing face, while Poppy rolled her eyes at her peers' reactions. Edward turned bright red with embarrassment as the teachers pushed their way into his chambers. Poppy threw one of his coats at him to cover up.

"Edward, we need to make a search of the castle. You have been assigned to the DADA and tower and the Dark tower," McGonagall advised him as he slipped the coat over himself to conceal his open skin.

"Why? What happened?" he asked tiredly. Sleep seemed to never come to him. Before he could get a full pair of clothes, or even shoes on for that matter, he was immediately pushed out the door by the group of faculty women.

"Sirius Black broke in again and attempted to attack one of our students in their bed. We need to find out if he is still here, but I am afraid that he already fled," McGonagall advised him as he was led down the corridors to the Dark tower. It was a cold night and the draft from wearing fewer clothes than usual was getting to him. Sprout went to go check the Grand staircase while Poppy went to check up on the fourth floor. Edward was left in the creepy tower by himself when McGonagall went towards the transfigurations corridor with Aurora. The tower seemed to be used as a prison at one point. He guessed that it still could have since there were shackles still hanging on the walls. The tiny barred windows let in little sunlight and Edward had to carry around a heavy oil lamp in order to see anything. Searching through the tower was a cinch since all of the seven levels were large empty cells that no one in their right mind would ever walk into. Edward made it to the third floor of the tower before he saw any sign of life. There was a small scurry from the corner of the corridor. Edward held up his hands and saw a familiar figure in the shadows. It was probably Crookshanks again, but as he edged closer, Edward saw that it wasn't a cat, it was a dog. The dog, having been spotted, bolted down the corridor and through the open door of the tower. Edward chased after it. He ran across the suspended bridge and into the Defense Against the Dark Art's tower. The dog was a good distance ahead of him, rounding the corners of the corridors almost fifteen seconds before he did. They raced all the way through the third level of the towers before Edward spotted it turn into the Gunhilda Gorsimore Corridor. He rounded the corner expecting to see it sprinting down the hall way, but nothing was there. It was as if the dog was a figment of his imagination. In his search for the dog, Edward passed the One eyed witch statue, which still looked at him creepily with its moving eye. He shivered a bit but looked at the statue a little closer. The dog couldn't have possibly went through the passage way. Harry had to open it before with magic. Surely a dog couldn't use magic. After a few more seconds of studying the passage entrance, Edward headed down the corridor to see if the dog was crouching in any other corner of the castle. No trace of the animal was found.

All of the faculty met up in the Great Hall after their search was complete. Every single one of them gave Edward awkward glances at seeing that he was wearing nothing more than his over coat and a pair of shorts. He gave an equally menacing glare back at each one of them. He didn't care anymore that he was only half dressed. All he wanted to do was go to bed and get some rest. That run after the dog was exhausting after you piled it up on the day he had.

"So it seems that Black has escaped again. Everyone must be a little frightened at this, but I will make sure that the security is tightened and doubled," Dumbledore said to them. "I will ask that a couple more faculty members volunteer for the night patrols. We need as many people out there as possible to ensure the safety of our students. The Dementors will be ordered to keep a closer watch on the grounds so they will be posted around the entrances to the castle. Since Sir Cadogan proved himself to be an incompetent sentry, I had him removed and replaced the Gryffindor tower with another portrait for the time being that the Fat Lady is away. With that said, I bid you all a good night. There is nothing else we can do for this evening." The teachers nodded and went off to their own rooms leaving the tired Edward to make his way back to his bed. Dumbledore followed him out of the great hall.

"Dear boy, why do you not have any clothes on?" he asked him a little flustered. Edward growled at the old man an ascended the grand staircase towards the third floor.


	16. Occupational Hazards

**HAHA! Met my deadline! Take that father time! Okay here is the next chapter... hope you like. I love all of the lovely reviews that you are giving and I am very grateful. Thankyou everyone! I just want to say that I was listening to ELO as I was writing this and now it is stuck in my head... ugh. WARNING: I might not post this weekend because of SATs sorry, but thats scheduling. Check profile for statuses on the story. SO EXCITED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER GOING TO BE A BLAST!**

CHAPTER 16

Occupational Hazard

Edward was eternally grateful that the following day was Sunday. He slept like a rock all the way into the early afternoon and then some. Several times during his long needed rest, a house elf would attempt to wake him for meals but after Edward sent the third one hurling out of the portrait in fear of his rage, they left him alone. He wasn't mean to them, he was just grumpy and sleep deprived. When Edward finally woke he saw a cold plate of sandwiches on the bedside table ready for him to eat. He guessed that he would have to apologize to the house elves later and warn them not to wake him up. After getting dressed, fully dressed, and stuffing a few sandwiches into his mouth and pockets, Edward made his way down through the castle. The spring sunlight happily drifted through the stained glass windows. It seemed like the last of the snow had finally melted and the rainy weather was pushed aside at last. Huge piles of mud laid on the ground outside and he spotted a couple polecats playing around in the wet dirt. Hagrid would deal with them when he had the chance. The Hogsmede trip left that day with few less people on it than they had planned. The students were still scared of the events the prior evening and locked themselves in their common rooms for the afternoon. Edward spotted Harry skidding off down the corridor away from the fuming Hermione. Ron kept giving her menacing glares. He guessed it was probably what he heard about the rat being eaten, but Edward still couldn't believe he was still worked up over that. Shaking his head pitifully, Edward entered the near empty Great Hall in search for a place to study. He had several essays that he needed to correct and chose to use that time wisely. Setting his duffle bag full of paperwork on the table, Edward started to work.

Like usual, Neville Longbottom had the best and most impressing alchemy paper. He heard from Professor Sprout that the work he put into his class wasn't much different from that of which the boy puts into Herbology. Maybe Edward should show them how to make grass or grains just for the boy's benefit. A couple of the other essays were decent but the pureblooded or wizard born children were still taking it a lot harder than the muggle raised ones. He should probably throw in a few more reviews on chemistry and physics. Just as he picked up Granger's alchemy paper on the different forms of circles, low and behold, she came bursting into the Hall with her book bag stuffed with papers and utensils. She sat down right next to him and spread out her loads of work. He was amazed that it even fit in her bag. She scrambled for a pen and started to write on several lengths of paper.

"You spelled 'tapestry' wrong," Edward mumbled to her. She ignored him and continued on her studies. It seemed like her attention span was just as strong as his, so he kept correcting. After a few misspelled words and a couple missing commas Granger exploded.

"I can't do it!" she screamed out to the world. The Divinations book was slammed shut and Hermione crashed her head down on top of it. "I don't understand the logic behind any of this! It is all too….. too…"

"Loaded with crap?" Edward finished for her and she looked up at him thankfully. He scribbled out a few more words and looked over at her. "Why do you take it if you don't like it?" Hermione tried to find an answer but none came. Edward shrugged and went back to his work. "I am just saying, you seem to have a full plate. It would lighten the load a bit if you dumped some of the pointless courses and went straight for the things that would benefit you. Learning about the changing future won't be very useful when you are applying for a job, unless you want to con them into thinking that you foretold it to be or something." There was a bit of silence and then a couple shuffling of papers. Hermione shoved her divinations back in her bag and pulled out her alchemy book. Edward nearly forgot he assigned them homework over the weekend. Page three hundred and nine to three hundred and fifteen, if he remembered right.

"Professor," Hermione said. Edward let out a low groan.

"How many times must I say Edward? The hall is empty for Pete's sake it isn't like a formal occasion or anything," he mumbled.

"Sorry," Hermione muttered. "Edward, why did you tear three hundred and ten out of our books when it just had some circles we needed to copy down?" The hall was filled with silence for a little while as the alchemist kept working on the paper. After a little bit, he set down his quill and looked over at her.

"Let me say, that there are some things that students shouldn't know. Those circles aren't even located in the restricted section of the library or in the Amestrian archives. I don't know why Flamel would have thought to have put them in a student text book but…." Edward paused and snatched the book out of Hermione's hands. He scanned the pages quickly. "By god, this man is a genius," he chuckled to himself. Why didn't he see it before? Hermione looked at him curiously. His change in demeanor was startling.

"Are you alright?" she asked him nervously. Edward whipped out his pocket notebook and flipped through the coded pages.

"Absolute genius! I can't believe it!" Edward exclaimed nearly hugging the text book with joy. He turned to Hermione happily and pointed at the plain text. "it is all here!"

"What is?"

"His research notes!" the giddy alchemist exclaimed. "What a code! Who would have thought that hiding them in the public eye would…" Edward caught himself and glanced sheepishly over at Hermione. "Sorry about that," he said handing the book back to the baffled girl. "I got a bit carried away, but this could be the answer to everything!"

"Everything of what?" Hermione asked him, but the alchemist was busy shoving all of his work back into his duffle bag.

"I need to write Al!" Edward exclaimed as he shot up with his notebook in his hand and the duffle slung over his shoulder. He raced down the tables just to back track a few moments later. He tossed Hermione's corrected essay down in front of her and raced back out the doors. After a few moments of getting her thoughts straightened out, she looked down at the essay.

"I got a B?!" she exclaimed in horror.

….

Edward sprinted to the Defense Against the Dark Art's tower in a flash. He had to dodge a couple of wayward students and hurdle over a ghost that was flying up through the floor, but he made it through the armory with all limbs intact. Just as he was about to turn into his classroom however, a hand shot out from classroom 3C and snagged his coat. Edward toppled backwards and fell to the ground, his duffle spilling out papers and spewing ink. Remus flicked his wand and the ink reset itself into the bottle that it was previously in while Edward scurried about for his papers. The tall man picked him up off the ground and brushed off his coat.

"I meant to catch you for a talk, but I didn't know that it would go that literally," Remus chuckled. Edward stuffed the last of his papers back into his duffle.

"I am sorry Remus, but I really have to go. I just found something that I really need to look into," Edward quickly to him. He tried to walk down the hall, but Remus held him by the sleeve of his coat.

"Edward, it is about your job," Lupin said stiffly. Edward looked him in the eye hoping that the man was joking, but he wasn't. The man lead him into his office where the boggart was locked safely in a chest and an empty goblet laid smoking on the desk. Edward sat down quietly in one of the chairs across from the table while Remus set himself down in his own. He still didn't know what it was with this man and tea, but Remus made him yet another cup of the steamy liquid. Taking it kindly, he pursued to put three sugar cubes into it to make it less bitter. After he took a moment to let the cubes disperse, he looked sternly up at his friend.

"What's the trouble?" he asked. Lupin pulled out a newspaper and set it down in front of him. On the front page, there was a picture of him and the Colonel fighting it out during their assessment. This was no doubt one of Collin's arrays of photos but why it was in the paper he didn't know. The words above his badass photograph were printed in huge bold lettering saying, 'Child Soldier Teaches Students'. "What is this?" he said picking it up and skimming through the article.

"Supposedly when you were assigned the position, Dumbledore failed to mention your predicament to the Ministry. It took a while for the news to leak out, but when the officials got their hands on it they were not happy. Someone must have sent them this photograph as well." Edward read the article and there were many repeated statements about his _capability_ to teach students and a few nasty remarks on his culture as well. Seeing as the boy was engrossed in the paper, Lupin continued. "You see Edward, teachers have to take yearly assessments just like you to see if they are still capable to teach the students. It is all for the benefit in order to make sure they are getting the right curriculum covered for the year. As it turns out, you didn't take your assessment. This normally wouldn't affect the Ministry at all seeing that it was kind of a rush order and new professors aren't required to do so, but when they found out about you…. Their opinions changed."

"So you are saying that I might lose my job?" Edward asked desperately, the words of the Colonel rang in his ears. '_Keep safe up there to finish the job, or else I might Court Martial you for subordination.'_ Lupin solemnly nodded. "I can't be fired!" he panicked and tossed down the paper. "The President would-" he was about to start but paused. _Keep safe…Keep safe… Keep safe to finish the job._ The President sent him here to stop meddling in the conspiracies of the higher ups. Mustang sent him there to stay safe. If he got fired and was sent home, he would wind up right in the mess of it all again. He couldn't be sent home. Of course he hated that the Bastard was keeping him out of the battle zone, but it must have been for a good reason. He was planning something. "I am not allowed to go home….." Edward muttered to himself. He pulled on his friend's jacket to pull the man in closer. Desperation and determination rang through his golden eyes and almost frightened the werewolf.

"There is a lot of shit going on down in Amestris and I can't go back right now, Colonel's orders. I absolutely can't lose this job until the year is over, not yet," Edward said sternly. Remus nodded and pried the kid's iron grip off of his jacket so he could sit back down in his chair.

"Don't worry Edward," Lupin reassured him. "Dumbledore left for the Ministry this morning. That is why I am telling you instead of him. He is going to go call a case to sort things out, but in the mean time I would start preparing something in case they demand a meeting. Try to get on their good side."

"But I am terrible at making official appearances let alone friends!" Edward complained. He couldn't believe this was actually happening to him.

"Come on, you made Severus your friend. Not many people could say that," Lupin laughed but Edward shot him a death glare. The blonde boy sank down into his chair and started to massage his face in his hands. Remus sighed. "How bad were your previous appearances?" Edward peeked at him through the cracks of his fingers a second before returning his face to its hidden position.

"I attacked the President with a spear during my alchemy skill assessment. Everyone thought I was a terrorist for a week." Remus let out a low whistle at the story. Even though Edward was of a complex background, it was surely true. That was probably the worst case scenario for an official appearance to go. Just as Remus was about to comment on the story, a loud crack was heard from the fireplace. Edward toppled over in his chair from the sudden noise as the shallow green flames shot up from the hearth. Severus's face appeared in the charcoals of the grate and he looked rather angry, though that might have been the flames.

"Remus, Edward, get down here to my office! Immediately!" Severus's angry voice rang out. Shivers were sent down Edward's spine at the near brutality of it all. Lupin gave a tired shrug and helped Edward to his feet. They headed down several flights of stairs till they were in the cold damp dungeons that Severus liked to call his office. When Edward walked into the dark room, he saw Harry sitting guiltily in the chair while his coworker paced around with a blank dirty piece of parchment. It wasn't just any blank piece of parchment though. A silent gasp escaped him as the Maurader's map was waved madly in his face by Severus.

"Tell me what this is!" he scolded him, his black eyes glaring with fire. Edward took the paper from him and pretended to study it. Lupin leaned over his shoulder the same fashion. For some reason, Remus gave him the oppression that he already knew about the map. There were several worlds scrawled on the map and they seemed to be written there by the authors themselves. Edward tried to retain a chuckle as he read the taunting sentences. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs seemed to know exactly how to make a person laugh, unfortunately at Severus's expense.

"You need to admit, this is a new one," he chuckled pointing at the sentence Wormtail wrote about his greasy hair. Snape swiped the map from him and silenced his laughs.

"I will not put up with this! Now tell me what you know about this paper and how this boy got it!" Severus snapped. He shoved the paper back at Lupin who gave it another once over. Harry twiddled his thumbs nervously in the corner. While Snape wasn't looking Edward gave him a stern glare that sent guilt running through his face. Lupin let out a light chuckle.

"It seems that it is just a piece of prank parchment that replies to the person that uses it. Nothing more ordinary. Must have picked it up in a joke shop I presume." Just as Severus was about to retaliate, a bright red headed kid burst into the room after what seemed a ten mile run. Ron collapsed on a desk panting.

"He's innocent! I…. gave him….. all that stuff… ages ago!" Ron gasped. Edward rolled his eyes at the tired kid. He must have run all the way back from Hogsmede. It was only five miles tops, not that much.

"See? Simple prank, nothing more," Remus said happily to him. Severus glared at the four of them, his face was still seething in fury.

"Fine," he mumbled and stomped back to his desk. "Get out of here, but I don't want to here rumors of floating heads in Hogsmeade ever again. Get that Potter?" Severus glared at him. Harry looked like he saw a ghoul with how white he took. Remus took the grateful regard and hauled all of them out of his classroom. Edward grabbed the panting Weasley by the shirt collar and dragged him out as well. They marched the boys to the privacy of the inner gears of the clock tower entrance, did they stop. Remus and Edward glared at the two of them. When the boys said nothing, Edward took the initiative to give them a piece of his mind. He walked up to Harry and slapped him across the face.

"ARE YOU TWO OUT OF YOUR MINDS!" Edward boiled. Harry stood shocked holding his burning cheek with his hand. "After the incident last night with Black roaming the castle you still thought it was a good idea to escape to Hogsmede for a cup of tea! You idiots! That man is after you! You could have died! At least warn me before attempting anything stupid! That map might tell you things but it can't protect you!" Ron was about to retaliate, but kept his mouth shut in fear of a slapping himself. With the awkward silence that followed his outburst, Edward gave out a large sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"One of my friends gave me this talk even though she was of a lower rank. You can trust adults, you can trust me. You two could have came to me before you planned something stupid so that I could have been there to either stop you, or protect you. You can trust us. I was in a similar circumstance once and almost died because I didn't tell anyone about it. Don't be naive and don't be idiots," Edward scolded them. The hung their heads in shame and Edward looked up at Remus to see if he had anything else to say.

"Edward, you know about the map?" Remus asked him curiously. Edward nodded stiffly and returned to glare at the boys.

"Yes, I used it once before with Harry, however, I was there to protect him if anything went rye. It doesn't justify that I even let them out of the castle, but I needed to get out as well." Remus gave a nod, even though it wasn't approving, Edward took it as best as he could. Remus folded the piece of parchment and put it back into the pocket of his coat.

"I am afraid I am going to have to confiscate this from you," Lupin said to them. Harry and Ron looked down trodden and beaten, but the teachers ignored them. "I think that what Edward said sums it up. You two acted completely out of line and could have got yourselves killed. Harry I don't ever want you to go to Hogsmede without permission again. Trust us, it is for the better good." With that, Remus stalked off down the corridor leaving the teenagers to deal with each other. Harry still held his slightly pink cheek and didn't look up at him. Edward let out a huge breath of air and sank down the wall to sit on the floor. Sometimes being a guardian is more tiring than being a soldier. Not knowing what else to do, Harry and Ron did the same thing. They each sank down to the floor on either side of their friend.

"What did you do?" Ron asked after a while. Edward glanced over to the red head curiously and the kid elaborated. "What did you do to get the beating you gave us?"

"Al and I found a possible lead to ….. our goal, and there was a serial killer out on the lose at the time. Lieutenants Ross and Brosh were our body guards for the time being and we didn't tell them where we went off to. It was stupid for us to go off alone, especially when we knew that there was something just not right with the abandoned laboratory, but we did it anyway. As it turned out, I nearly got myself slaughtered, killed, and blown up all in the same night. Right after I started to recover in the hospital, Lieutenant Ross gave me that spiel, slap and all."

"Humans are idiots," Ron muttered. Edward chuckled.

"We all make the same mistakes and never seem to learn from them," he replied. Just as a calm spring breeze decided to shift its way through the clock tower and cool them down, Hermione raced up from down the corridor. When she reached them Edward noticed that her cheeks were pink and her eyes seemed wet. A note was clutched in her hands. Ron grumbled.

"Are you here to yell at us too?" Hermione shook her head furiously.

"H-Hagrid! H-He lost the case!" she said shoving the note in the three of their faces. Hagrid must have been a wreck because the handwriting looked outrageously shaky while several spots seemed to have smeared with the tear drops that still seemed to cling to it. Edward nodded his head and stood up off of the ground.

"Come on," he said motioning for Hermione to follow him. "Let's go see him." The girl nearly collapsed on him. Silent tears were streaming down her cheeks. Harry and Ron didn't look that good themselves. Their faces blanched and their eyes were wet as well. Edward motioned to them as well. "Come on."

The four of them marched down to Hagrid's hut where it stood quiet and dark. Edward didn't even bother to knock and let themselves in. Like usual, Hagrid was in a bumbling mess. They sat around him at the kitchen table and just stared at him for a while. They just let him breath for a minute to give him some time to cool off. Even Fang seemed to be in a depressed mood for it didn't even make an attempt to tackle him. The large dog rested his slobbery head on Edward's knee and he massaged it a little bit for the hound's sake. After a little bit, Edward started on the blubbering man.

"Hagrid, there has to be a way we can stop this, there always is," Edward said calmly. A few sniffles came out from the man.

"It can't be stopped! I-I never had a-a chance! M-m-malfoy had me set up a-all this t-t-time!" Hagrid sobbed. "Th-that Lucius h-had the c-committee hung b-by his fingers!" Edward looked at Ron for elaboration.

"Malfoy's dad holds a high position in the ministry and he must have initiated the whole thing and bribed the committee or something," Ron said to him. "He doesn't really care for anything but his own rich pureblood ass." Hermione slapped him on the head but nothing more came from her. She must have thought the same thing.

"If a-any new g-got to him, h-he would d-do i-it in, j-just l-l-like Buckbeak!" Hagrid cried. Edward jolted out of his chair in sudden realization. With the sudden change in demeanor, he startled Fang and upset Harry off of his chair.

"T-that Bastard!" Edward seethed in rage. "That half assed, know it all prick!" he screamed. Hermione stood up to try and calm him down, but it did little good. Edward took to pacing the room muttering to himself. This seemed to distract even Hagrid from his current predicament.

"Edward, what are you talking about?" Harry asked him finally. Hagrid let out a curious sniffle as well.

"It was him! He is trying to ruin everything!" Edward stormed, but after a few seconds he looked over at the group of wizards and let out a bust of air. "I guess this isn't the best time to tell you, but I might lose my job. He must have been the one to send the ministry some information about me and get them riled up. It's in the papers." Hermione let out a little gasp, but Edward walked back over to the table and plopped down tired. "The only way I can keep my job is if I muster up all of my charm and suck up to them just to appeal to their tastes."

"That's it!" Ron shouted turning the air of the room back around. "The appeal! Hagrid you can still save Buckbeak with the appeal! We can still turn this around!" Hagrid leaped out of the chair and grabbed the little ginger into a large grateful hug. Tears were streaming down the giant's face and snot lined his black beard. Ron looked like he was about to suffocate from the power grip he had, but Hagrid let him go after a few seconds.

"I-I can't b-believe that you a-are here once again f-for me!" the man bawled. Edward whipped a few stray tears from his cheek.

"Don't worry Hagrid, we will get some more information lined up for you. I will find some more that you can use to help," Hermione said hopefully.

"B-but what if I mess up again?" Hagrid said. Ron patted him on the shoulder.

"I will help too. Hermione, you don't have to do it alone. We will make sure you win it this time," Ron stated happily. The bushy brunette nearly tackled Ron to the ground with a gut bruising hug.

"R-Ron! Thankyou!" Hermione said. Ron's face turned red like his hair. Hermione kept her hug though. "I-I am sorry!" she apologized to him. The boy pried the girl off of him and looked at her for a second.

"About what?"

"I am sorry about Scabbers. I shouldn't have been so rude to you for just defending your pet."

"No," Ron said patting her on the shoulder. "He was old, might have died of a heart attack before your cat got him. I wasn't acting any better. I promise though, I will help." Harry and Edward just looked at each other. The room was too full of emotions for them to handle at that moment. They nodded to Hagrid and left the hut silently. They walked quietly back up to the castle. When they reached the entrance, the sun dropped low to the horizon casting shadows around the place.

"So are you really going to lose your job?" Harry asked him quietly. Edward gave a shallow nod and leaned his back against the door.

"I might be able to stop it, but I am not any good at making public appearances. With what Hagrid said about Malfoy, I don't think that there would be any hope anyway." The two of them just stood there quietly for a minute and watched the sun sink below the horizon. The cool spring breeze felt good as it blew through their light jackets. As Edward glanced around at the land scape, he saw two yellow eyes pop up from a nearby shrubbery. Curios, he peered a little closer and Crookshanks popped out of the bush as usual startling Edward a bit. He could never get use to that. As the knurly cat snuck its way into the castle and out of sight, he turned to Harry a little questionably.

"Do you know why students are allowed to have their pets roam free around the castle?" Harry shook his head swiftly.

"They aren't. Crookshanks just seems to escape a lot. No one minds though. It is the only one that roams about."

"But who owns the dog?" Edward asked curiously. Harry's head shot up and his eyes grew wide in what seemed like fear.

"A dog?" his voice wavered.

"Yeah, a big black one. I saw it roaming about in the Dark tower. Whose is it?" Edward asked calmly. There was an eerie silence as Harry mulled over what Edward said. After a while, Harry finally answered him.

"There are no dogs in the castle."


	17. Letters from Home

**Okay next chapter! I am sorry for the long wait but the SAT's really knocked it out of me and I got plowed over with history work. Thankyou for all of the reviews. I really appreciate to hear from you. As i said on my profile, it looks like the usual updates would usually be twice a week around wensday and the weekend. (they can change so my statuses with keep you updated!) I hope you like this chapter. It is kind of a lot to take in. I will make sure to get the next chapter up sooner. Thankyou everyone!**

CHAPTER 17

Letters from Home

Edward sat in his classroom that night thumbing through the Alchemy text book. It was hard to concentrate with everything that he found out that day. No dogs, no job, no Hippogriff. He wished that he could take a break from all the bad news, but he needed to keep Malfoy and his friends in a detention. The slytherins were beating the erasers from his chalk board out. They could have simply magiced their way through it, but Edward wasn't about to let them go that easily. He had their magic sticks locked up in his desk drawer. If they wanted to, he allowed them to use alchemy, but since that took chalk, it would have been pointless. Malfoy went into a coughing fit after Crabbe accidentally smacked him in the face with an eraser. Edward ignored him and tried to translate the text book. It was a lot harder than it looked. Flamel seemed to be using some sort of triple coding system. Though the transmutation circles on the ripped off page were a complete give away that the book was indeed coded, the act of translating them was basically impossible for another person to conceive. Luckily Edward wasn't a normal person. He scribbled down a few notes in his note book and turned the page of the text. Malfoy, having chalk completely coating his clothes and throat, crawled over to his desk to get a glass of water from the pitcher that was there. Edward didn't look up from his work as the boy took a sip of the precious fluid.

"Why are you reading the text book?" he asked him innocently. It had no starchiness to it what so ever. It seemed like the kid was actually interested. Edward doodled a few more notes and turned the page.

"As it seems, your father thinks that I am incompetent. I would wonder where he got that idea," Edward snarled at him. He was in no mood to deal with the kid that was going to make him lose his job. However, quite unexpectingly, the boy seemed to be completely surprised.

"What?" his shaky voice replied.

"It turns out that the detention you had in the beginning of the year taught you nothing. I truly believed that after what you did to Hagrid, you would have thought about before you did the same thing to me. Your father is trying to get me fired. It was printed in the newspapers just this morning," Edward said as he pulled the print from a drawer in his desk and slapped it down in front of the boy. Draco picked up the paper and skimmed the article. "He thinks that someone as young and as dangerous as me shouldn't be holding a position here at Hogwarts. I am going to have to fight for my job early next month." Edward gave a false chuckle at the boy and stood up from his position in his chair. "I couldn't help but wonder," he said tauntingly, "how did Lucius get his hands on one of Colin Creevy's photographs?"

"He was handing them out to everyone, maybe someone sent the ministry one, or their parents turned it in," Malfoy replied shakily. He knew what Edward was getting at, and he didn't like it.

"Yes, that is exactly what I thought. Draco do you hate me that much?" The kid looked taken aback by what Edward was insinuating. "Do you want me to lose my job just to be able to rub something in people's faces? Why did you send your father that picture?"

"I-I-I didn't….. I didn't!" Draco defended himself. Edward slammed his fist angrily on the desk.

"Shut up!" he scolded the terrified boy. "You had to. Being so connected with your father you must have. It might not have been by intention, but you said something to your father and now my neck is going to be hanged for it!" Edward glared into the boy's eyes and was slightly disturbed about what he saw. The boy was in pure confusion. It seemed that he actually didn't know what was going on. Edward shook his head and plopped down in his chair. "God, I am sorry," he mumbled at the boy as he rubbed his face in exhaustion. "I shouldn't have accused you like that. I am such an idiot."

"No," Draco said after a moment's silence. "I did send my father a letter, not a photo, but a letter. I-I thought he would have been proud of me."

"Proud that you are driving someone's life into the ground? Never heard that one before," Edward mumbled, but Malfoy shook his head.

"No." Edward looked up at the boy a little surprised. "My grades were almost as good as Granger's in this class. H-He always wants me to do better and I-I thought he would be proud of me." Edward's mind flashed back to a lost memory. He and Al were constantly showing their mother their newest alchemy creations. The smile was worth it. The smile was always worth it. Edward thought about what it would have looked like for Draco's father to smile…. Having no clue what this man looked like, he thought of a few gruesome things. Shivers were sent down his back.

"So, you didn't send the picture?" Edward asked a final time. Draco shook his head. Edward let out a sad sigh and placed his hand to his forehead. "Dear Aristotle this is confusing," he mumbled. "Well, it looks like someone else sent him that letter. I am sorry about that. I just need this job more than you know. The Colonel wants me to stay up here until-" he was cut off when Scops flew through the open window carrying a ginormous packaged. The six inch bird barely made it to the desk before it collapsed under the weight. The bundle of letters made a thump as it hit the table. There were about one hundred letters strapped together with a thin piece of twine, all addressed to him in various forms of handwriting. He noticed that a couple of these were from Alphonse, a few from Izumi, and several signed by Winry. He scattered them around the desk and noticed a vanilla envelope marked to him by the Colonel. Draco sat at the desk a bit stunned at the sudden appearance of his mail as Edward opened the letter. It was coded in Mustang's personal format, not the military which was strange.

_Fullmetal,_

_ This is urgent, more than you can possibly know. The superiors found out about our interference and the homunculi's connections spread more than just the Fuhrer. It turns out the entire seat is in it as well. They decided it was a good time to divide and conquer. The troops have been split up and demoted; Breda west, Falman north, Fuery south, and Hawkeye became the personal aid of the Fuhrer. I think you can guess what that means. They sent their own teams of national security down to Rush valley to keep an eye on things. I thought you ought to have known since Winry and Al were staying there. _

_However, as it turns out, Hawkeye now has the upper hand. She found your letters in the Fuhrer's office the other day. They must have been stealing them in order to check the information. They want to keep you there until they can use you. I found Scops after your last message and sent them to you. Fullmetal, I need to say watch yourself up there. When the homunculi want you back, you will know. Be prepared to lose your job, be prepared to fight. Don't get the wizards involved unless in need of aid. This is bigger than we imagined._

_ -Colonel Roy Mustang_

Edward dropped the letter as soon as he finished it and slumped back in his chair. Draco looked at him curiously but didn't say anything as the alchemist devoured what he had just read.

"God, it has begun," Edward gasped. He looked over at Draco and then back at the other two working slytherins. "Out." He barked. The three students looked up at him a bit surprised. Each one of their faces were still clouded with chalk dust, Vincent and Gregory more so than Draco.

"But it is only seven," Crabbe argued but Goyle jabbed him in the ribs.

"OUT," Edward commanded and the slytherins stumbled over themselves to get their things. "Consider this a present to you all," Edward added as the boys vanished from his room. He looked down at Scops. The bird laid collapsed on the desk curled up where Edward now kept his polecat hat just for him. The tiny thing had to carry almost twice his weight to get here.

"You are going to have a lot more work to do little man," Edward said to the bird as he picked up his quill.

…..

Edward took in a huge yawn as he sat down at the breakfast table. Poppy and Remus were bickering back and forth at each other that morning and barely noticed that the alchemist was alive. Edward poured himself a bowl of oatmeal and took in another obnoxious breath. He could barely hold his head up and after a few moments, his face fell into his breakfast bowl. Lupin quickly stopped his fight with Poppy and grabbed the back of Edward's head to lift it out of his food.

"You don't look too good," Lupin said as he cleaned the boy's face off with a flick of his wand. Edward replied with a huge yawn and laid his head back down on the table. He didn't get much sleep last night because he stayed up to read all of his newly returned mail. He also found a few more keys in the text book that he could use for translation, but the code still needed work. All and all, it wasn't until four o clock in the morning that he got to bed, totaling of a full healthy three hours of sleep. Due to this fact, it was only a matter of seconds before Edward fell asleep again at the breakfast table. Slow heavy breaths slunk out of his mouth. Lupin shook him awake another time. "What were you doing in order to make yourself so tired?"

Edward blinked a few drowsy times and attempted to grab the spoon in order to eat his food. "I was writing to my brother…" he slurred and started to fall over again. He caught himself though and returned to his sloppy vertical position. "It was…. Urgent… and Scops was… tired…" he added. His weight collapsed again and he fell asleep another time his head propped peacefully against Poppy's shoulder. He looked tranquil there and Poppy smiled down at him as his breathes leveled out one more time.

"It seems like he is the one that is tired,' Lupin added taking a sip of morning tea. Poppy nodded and quietly brushed Edward's sporadic hair out of his mouth where it hung. "The boy works too hard. Not only does he have two full time jobs, but he also has his brother to look after. He needs to take a break once in a while."

"I thought that was what the weekends were for," Poppy said to him.

"Well, he has a full plate, uses most of his time researching or correcting grades. I wish he would act more his age and goof off a little."

"It seems that he gets along well with the students, maybe they could hang out a while or something," Poppy added. Edward gave s stifled snore from her shoulder. She motioned for Lupin to hand her her medical kit which was underneath the table.

"It is kind of hard when most of them see him as a teacher," Lupin said passing the bag to her. She searched around in it for a little bit. "However, that might not be an issue any longer with his job confliction."

"How is he taking it? I don't like it that the ministry is picking on a child, especially a muggle child. If you think about it, Edward should be out of their jurisdiction," Poppy said filling a syringe with bright orange fluid.

"As long as he is under magical influences, they can do whatever they want with him, just like squibs," Remus sighed as he scooted a few inches away where Poppy held the boy. She rolled up the sleeve on his right arm and stuck him with the needle. The instant the pickerup potion was shot into him, Edward jolted up out of his seat terrified and fell to the floor. The several students that were eating breakfast looked up at him in shock. He rubbed his sore head with his hand and glared at the nurse who was putting away the needle.

"What was that for?" he grumbled and hopped back in his seat wide awake from shock. The nurse rolled her eyes at his grumpy attitude and placed the bag back under the chair.

"You need to stay awake if you plan on teaching at all today," Poppy said to him. He put a few pieces of fruit into a bowl of oatmeal and glanced up at her as he stirred them in.

"I don't have to, I cancelled my classes for the day," Edward noted and took a spoon full of the mushy grain.

"Why would you do that? Exams are in only a couple of months!" Remus cried, but the boy gave him an uncaring shrug.

"There is still plenty of time," he mumbled. "Any way, I have some personal business that I need to take care of. If I remember correctly, a teacher can cancel class if it is in issue of their health or family matters." The two teachers nodded quietly and went back to eating their breakfast. After finishing his bowl and then some, Edward stood up to leave. "If you need my I will be in the Library or my chambers," he said to them. As he turned to leave, Poppy grabbed him by the hand to stop him.

"Wait! Before you go, I was hoping that you could drop off this box of tea to Sibyl. She has been asking for it and I just don't have the time to get there. I know you don't really get along with her, but…." Edward silenced the babbling woman when he took the box out of her hand. He smiled to her as he tucked it underneath his arm.

"Don't worry, I got it covered."

…..

Edward spent most of the day in the library. By lunch, he managed to break another of the layered codes in the text book. He made sure to sit in the back of the library away from the counter where Irma sat. She kept glaring at him for some reason. He had to guess that it was because even with the Pickerup potion that Poppy gave him he was still constantly falling asleep on the library tables. After the latest incident, Pince slammed a dictionary down on the table to wake him up. Edward jolted awake and sleepily gazed up at her. The lady babbled something in gibberish and glared at him like she expected an answer. Seeing that he didn't hear her right she repeated. Edward figured out that his translation spell must have worn off.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Pince growled at him. He quickly translated it and looked down around his desk. There was the mass amounts of papers and notes he spread around him and then a tiny box far to the left of the table away from his work. Right, the tea, he nearly forgot. Edward nodded his head and started to pack up his note books and papers into his duffle bag.

"Yes, I need to deliver the…. The tea," he stuttered a bit nearly forgetting the word. Pince looked almost relieved with his answer and turned her back to return to her desk. Edward wasn't about to let her go that easily though. "I will be back when finished!" he called after her. He saw her clench the air in frustration and chuckled a bit as the Librarian resorted to muttering curses under her breath.

It took a while to find the astronomy tower. He hadn't been there ever since the first day of classes when he ran into Hermione. Luckily however, he still had the map that Hagrid gave him. Edward quickly followed the route over to the western side of the castle. He was a little happy to see that Sir Cadogan was returned to his rightful place on the wall for that meant he wasn't trusted with guarding the Gryffindor dormitories anymore. Ever since the incident with Sirius breaking in for the second time that year, people have been keeping a closer watch on the pictures. It turned out that Dumbledore picked none other than Louis Armstrong to take over the watch of the watch of the tower. He was one of the extra pictures that Edward was sent in the beginning of the year. He didn't hang it up because it wouldn't stop posing at him or crying over all the work he was doing. Seeing that it was in no use Dumbledore put and enlargement enchantment on it and hung it in the corridor when Sir Cadogan was removed. Edward picked up his pace as the knight gave him a friendly wave and tried to catch up with him for a talk, but he picked up his pace and was out of earshot before the painted man even tried to get on his stubborn horse. At the tower, Edward nearly forgot that there was no actual staircase up to the loft where the classroom was. Seeing as the magical silvery ladder wasn't going to come down to him, Edward clapped his hands and created his own stone one out of the floor and walls. After a few knocks on trap door, the hitch opened and the silver rope ladder which the students used to get there fell on his head.

"I am sorry Mr. Elric," Neville said as he brushed off the ladder and climbed the rest of the way into the tower. He looked around to see that the third year Gryffindors were all in the tower and staring down at weird clouded crystals. He whispered down to the chubby Neville kid.

"What are you all doing?" he asked him quietly.

"We are trying to read the future in the crystal balls. It isn't going too well though," the boy muttered. Edward walked over to where a few of the students were crowded over their own ball and looked into it. All he saw was a giant puff of white smoke. No image came out of it or anything.

"Well, the answer is quite simple," Edward said straightening up and crossing his arms. Neville looked up at the table curiously at him and so did a few of the other students. In a dead serious tone Edward said, "there is going to be a hell ton of fog this week." The students started laughing at his joke and Sybil emerged from the back room waving her arms around whimsically.

"Edward dear, I am sorry that I am late. I do thank you for my tea," she said before he took the small box out of his duffle. He glanced at her curiously but rolled his eyes when he remembered her belief in the inner eye. She took the box and set it down on her desk happily. "I do see that you are a bit skeptic of the magical art of divinations. Would you mind staying for the class? I feel that you might be most intrigued!" she said to him as he was about to turn to leave.

"Sorry, but I have places to go," Edward said trying to brush her off. He walked to the trap door and propped in open.

"But Edward, I think that you could take some time out of your studies in the library to learn a bit and relax. Anyway, the only successful thing you would be able to do today with those books is crack one code and get another Quidditch Through the Ages chucked at you again. Seeing as the major one is done already I think that it would be fine if you stay for a while," she insisted. Edward turned around to her and glared at her menacingly. He didn't tell anyone that he was decoding the text book let alone have another one finished. He slowly lowered the trap door and stood over it with his arms crossed.

"Who told you?" he glared at her menacingly. Trelawney smiled at him mystically and wandered back to where her class was deviating. Edward let out a huff and crawled in an empty chair next to Harry. It seemed like Ron was trying to concentrate on the fog that was swirling around it. Edward slumped over the table and wrapped his fingers on the wood completely bored and frankly annoyed that he couldn't go back to studying.

"It seems to be coming in a bit static," Ron mumbled. He wrote down a few notes and both Harry and Edward rolled their eyes at him.

"What were you doing in the library?" Harry asked him. Edward shot him a look and went back to studying the pattern on the table cloth.

"Nothing of your business," Edward mumbled. Harry let it go at that. Ron was still making weird faces into the crystal ball as he squinted to make out a form. Edward wrapped his fingers on the glass a few times. Though it looked like the crystal was still foggy, it seemed to be coming in clear for Ron.

"Whoa! That really worked!" Ron exclaimed as he took a few notes. For some reason, Edward had a feeling that the notes would be of no use to him in the later months. Ron focused in on the ball and read aloud what he was seeing. "It looks sort of like a door," he mumbled. "Maybe a door of opportunity or something like that."

"Ron, that sounds stupid," Harry mumbled and Ron stuck his tongue out at his friend. Ron returned back to the ball more enthusiastic than the others were. "It doesn't seem to be going anywhere though."

"What do you mean not going anywhere?"

"It' s just a door with weird markings on it in a white room," Ron stated. Hearing this, Edward's attention went into full alert, but before he could do anything, a searing pain shocked his mind and Ron and Edward fell to the ground off of the table. Edward clutched his left leg in torturous pain. It felt like it was being deconstructed again, but to everyone else it was just fine. Harry rounded the table to where Ron was laying on the ground massaging his throbbing head. If it was the door that Edward was thinking about, that meant Truth didn't want them to come any closer. They had no fee to pay with anyways.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron gasped. Hermione, who came over to see if they were both alright glared at him.

"Language Ron!" she snipped.

"You wouldn't be worried about vocabulary when it felt like an elephant was crammed through your head!" he retorted. Edward and the red head were shakily returned back to their seats as the entire class was turned into a quiet panic. Trelawney waved her hands wildly to calm them down and walked over to where the two were panting in their seats. Harry noticed that Edward was still massaging his leg frantically.

"What is the matter my dears?" she said dreamily placing a gentle hand on Edward's shoulder. He brushed it off and glared at her. He was about to retort something but the furious Hermione beat him to it.

"Ron and the Professor were attacked when they looked into the crystal! Some magic this is! The only thing useful that comes out of it is predicting when someone will die or having your head nearly blown apart!" She snapped at her. Sybil looked a little taken aback by the sudden outburst of the child.

"Well, this is obviously a misunderstanding. No one was ever hurt trying to read someone's future. You are over reacting. Your mind just can't simply look past the present situation and into the future's answers," she said stiffly out of her normal character. It seems that the two had hit their mark. Sybil stared boulders down at Hermione who was boiling to the brim of her tea cup. She slammed her Unfogging the Future book down on the little table they were at and glared back at her.

"Fine," she stated and picked up her book bag. Ron and Harry stared at her a little shocked. "Fine. I have had it with this bloody class and I had it with your bloody answers! I will not deal with it anymore! I am out!" She scolded the teacher and headed towards the trap door. Everyone heard blasphemy at the language that the girl just used. Hermione never talked back to a teacher like that. Before she fully disappeared out of the trap door her head poked back up and stared at Edward.

"I think you are right. I am going to lighten my curriculum, starting with this hell of a class!" The door slammed behind her as she descended the stone ladder Edward built. Ron gave him a 'what the hell just happened' look and he shrugged back at them. Sybil slowly gained her composure again and motioned for the flustered students to take their seats. They obliged and she took her own seat at where Edward, Ron, and Harry were sitting around the crystal ball.

"So, what happened here?" she asked quietly.

"I-I was reading Harry's future and this weird door appeared. I thought it was a door of opportunity or something, but as it was about to open, I was pushed away by something," the confused red head informed her. Edward let out a sigh.

"You weren't reading Harry's future, you were reading mine," Edward mumbled to them. Everyone at the table looked curiously at him. He ignored their strange faces and stared at Trelawney instead. "Are you sure that this thing only reads the future?" he asked seriously. She nodded her head.

"Crystal gazing is focused on the future, through other forms can see the past. Is there something that you want to tell us?" she asked him. He shook his head and took a quick glance down at his leg.

"No," he stated a little too quick for Harry's comfort. He stood up to leave. "There are some things that need a price to see, even with a crystal ball. I need to get back to my research now," he muttered and snatched his duffle from the floor. He quickly made his exit leaving a stunned classroom and descended the stone ladder. With a clap of his hands it deteriorated back into the ground. He half ran back to the comforting safety of the library. The Truth wasn't just in his past, it was going to come back in his future. He hated divinations.

…

Edward walked into the dining hall clutching his aching head. Like Trelawney predicted, Irma threw Quidditch Through the Ages at his head again and it hit its mark. What made the fact even worst was that he didn't crack the last code on the book yet. If only he had more time in the day to research then he probably could have finished. He needed to find as much information as possible as soon as possible. War was brewing back home, he could feel it. The more he knew about the stones the better. Since Flamel was an ancient piece of work, Edward secretly hoped that it might have something on the Purification arts in there, but he couldn't find out until he finished the decoding process.

The teacher's table was empty since they had a faculty meeting that he wasn't invited to. Some sort of Wizard's only meeting that Dumbledore failed to mention to him. He glumly sat down at one of the student tables across from Hermione who was still pissed off at the Divinations teacher. Edward was glad that she decided to drop the class in order to lighten her load but he didn't expect her to make a scene over it. He overheard a couple of the girls he saw in that class talk about how one of the teacher's predictions from earlier came true that day when Hermione quit the class. He did believe in the art of divinations now ever since Ron accidental read his future, but he still didn't believe half of the bull shit that Sybil was spewing out of her mouth. He gave a sigh and slumped over the table. Ron and Harry walked up and sat down next to him. Ron gave him a nice slap on the back.

"Wake up Professor, you look half dead!" he said merrily. Edward glared up at him and huffed.

"No one should be happy after having a book chucked at their head and finding out that your future sucks," he grumbled. Harry and Hermione both nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I just had another prediction about my intimate death at the end of the year," Harry added and slouched down in his seat.

"Not again! That lady is crazy!" Hermione growled and followed suit laying her head down on the table. Ron was the only one who seemed to be effected in a positive way after the divination's lesson. He sat smiling happily down at his three durned friends.

"Come on, aren't any of you happy that I actually was able to predict something?" Ron asked them excitedly, but he only got several groans in reply.

"Happy for you, but for us, not so much," Edward said. The four of them sat in silence for a little bit of the lunch period. Edward started to play with the table practicing his alchemic sculpting with the wood. He made a statue and returned it back to the table and repeat. After a few different figures were made and then deconstructed, Hermione looked up from her half eaten sandwich.

"May I ask you, what it was that Ron saw in your future?" she said curiously. Edward looked up for a second and then focused back on the table where a little statue of Izumi sat.

"No," he sighed and returned his teacher back to the table. Ron gave out a disappointed moan.

"But we have a right to know!" he complained to the teacher. "I mean I saw that thing after all, I should at least know what it is! The only answers you give us about things are 'its none of your business', or 'children shouldn't know these things'," Ron said in a mocking tone. Edward deconstructed his statue and glared at him.

"I say them because it is true. You shouldn't know some things. It might not look like it, but a lot of things happened in my life that a normal person, even a wizard would not understand or go crazy if they knew about it. I don't tell you certain things because I don't want you to make the same mistakes that I did. What you saw in there was one of the biggest mistakes in me and my brother's lives," Edward scolded him. He clapped his hands and placed them on the table again. A tiny statue of Roy popped out of the table. He quickly placed it back a little angered at the man's face for showing up.

"At least answer one question. I know you are dying to ask us something so equivalent exchange. We ask one, you ask one, simple," Hermione bargained. Edward glanced around the table and saw the three students' faces light up.

"How do I know you are going to keep your promise or tell me the truth?" Edward inquired suspiciously.

"Just going to have to trust us," Harry stated flatly. He nodded.

"Fire away," Edward retorted.


	18. Shots Fired

**Okay here you go, next awesome chapter... well, okay... So here it is, spilling the beans, but I tried to make it different so lets see how this scene plays out. Thankyou for all of the reviews and Typo corrections. Sometimes I mix up vocabulary... and sometimes it gets awkward. so thankyou for those updates. I hope you like this chapter. (See note below after the read for fun fact)**

CHAPTER 18

Shots Fired

Edward led the three curious students through the castle and to his chambers. His office would be too much disturbed for them to use privately and anywhere else was public. Answers needed to be given in a secure environment. The three students trailed behind him in silent, terrified curiosity. When they reached his chambers, he motioned for them to have a seat anywhere around the room. As Edward went into one of the smaller antechambers, which he used as a closet, the three made themselves comfortable. Hermione sat on one of the squashy armchairs while Ron took a position at the foot of the bed. Having nowhere else to sit, Harry was forced to take the desk chair. They heard Edward let out a small stream of curses as they heard something crash in the other room and they glanced at each other questionably. It must have been a very serious matter for Edward to take them to his own room. Since the three of them could only ask one question, they discussed it over lunch that day. Their teacher seemed a bit surprised that they had so many to pick from, but after a bit of sorting, they all agreed on one. What did the boggart turn into?

Edward returned to the room covered in white chalk. He must have accidentally tipped a box over when he was searching for the notebook he was carrying. It was old, older than the one that they saw him use constantly during his studying. The leather cover was beaten and flimsy while several extra pages looked like they were stuffed and sewn anywhere that they would fit. He booted Harry out of the chair and sat at his desk with the journal and a blank piece of parchment. The seconds ticked by s Edward scribbled some nonsense down on the paper. Harry leaned inwards to look over his shoulder but Edward pushed him back. When the scratching of the quill came to a stop, he turned to them and held up the piece of parchment. There was a sketch of the human body drawn in anatomical position. Several lists of elements and measurements were listed on the side of it and basic sketches and drawings of DNA were around the corners. Harry took it out of his hands and studied it with his friends. It made no sense. Edward patiently tapped his foot on the floor waiting the inevitable confused questions or shock to come bounding out of their mouths.

"Edward, what does this mean?" Ron finally asked him quietly. Edward snatched the drawing out of their hands and pointed to it.

"This is the entire chemical makeup of a basic human body. All of the ingredients here," he said pointing to the list of elements, "are exact measurements of every element recorded in the human from every cell in every part of your body."

"You didn't…." Hermione gasped. They boys still didn't seem to get it and looked at each other stupidly. Edward gave the girl a solemn nod.

"I performed a human transmutation," Edward stated flatly. "It isn't called the forbidden transmutation for just any reason you know. It absolutely cannot be done. I managed to prove that like many of the others before me. The world only goes in one direction, All is one, One is All. We disobeyed our teacher on that one and look where it got us. I am afraid of my own creation. That is what the boggart turned into."

"But if you put all of the ingredients into it, why didn't it work?" Harry asked curiously. Edward lifted his pant leg to show them his automail again.

"The price wasn't right," he said. The three gave out silent gasps as the reality of Edward's situation hit them hard. "Equivalent exchange means to gain something; you need to give something in return. A full human body and soul can't come out of nowhere you know. Something needs to be given. Can you think of one thing that can even add up to that of a human soul?" The three of them shook their heads, their eyes still locked on his metal leg. Edward rolled his pant leg down and set his foot back on the floor. In their state of shock, Edward picked up his parchment and walked over to throw it into the dead fireplace.

"But you said the Sorcerer's stone was an alchemic amplifier. Could-" Harry began, but Edward stopped him with a harsh and absolutely cruel chuckle. Harry shied back away as Edward turned around to face them.

"Try, just guess what the philosopher's stone is made out of. Please humor me with your answers." They stayed quiet a little a ashamed of themselves for even asking Edward the question in the first place. "Nothing can equal a human soul but exactly that, another soul. My transmutation was luckily a fail because if it actually succeeded, that body would have been alive instead of me and my brother. I am afraid of that monster because I realized how horribly wrong good intentions could go, I realized what disobeying my teacher got me, and I realized that my brother and I might never be the same again." He stole a peek at his friends' frightened faces and let out a completely exhausted sigh. Edward slowly walked back over to his desk and plopped back down in the seat. He massaged his tired face with his hands. All the while, not a word came out of his students.

"Just promise me," he begged quietly, "Just promise me that you won't do anything stupid like I did. The price isn't worth it. No matter how much you think it would be, it isn't. It doesn't have to be a leg either; it could be your organs, your body, or your life. I gave you the ingredients, just promise me you won't go looking for the activation. I don't, I don't want this mistake to ever be repeated. That is why I didn't tell you anything, that is why I lied." After a long moment of silence, Edward felt a heavy but gentle hand on his shoulder. He glanced up to see a watery eyed Hermione looking down at him. Edward thought that she was going to give him pitying words or even scold him, but he didn't expect a hug.

"I promise," she said to him softly. As awkward as the scene was, Edward knew that she truly meant it. Harry and Ron got up and rested their hands on his and Hermione's shoulders, as manly hugs went.

"We do too," Ron said to him. Edward nodded shyly and softly pushed the girl off of him. He stood up from the desk and turned towards them.

"Now I don't think I have to tell you to keep this quiet," Edward said sternly. "It was a mistake, but a cruel one. If word gets out, especially now with my job on the line, this won't end well for me."

"You said that it happened before, what happened to them if people found out?" Ron asked.

"Well, if they do indeed survive the transmutation and then someone found out about it, the military would ship their horribly mangled bodies to the nearest court and have them imprisoned probably for life. Sometimes in extreme cases they execute them but nothing like that happened for a long time," Edward said to them nonchalantly. Their faces turned to horror and he panicked to try and calm the terrified teens down. "Don't worry!" he said quickly, "Mustang got me covered. I will be fine as long as the ministry of Magic doesn't hear. I don't know how you people deal with this kind of thing, but after reading a text on Witch hunts, I don't think it would end well." He managed to calm everyone down a bit, but they were still on the edge of their seats. Edward walked around the room for a little bit pacing back and forth to try and ease his own tension. The chamber room went quiet for nearly ten minutes until Harry spoke up.

"Well, Edward," he said quietly. "What is it that you wanted to know?" The short professor glanced up at them a little confused. "You gave us an answer, now we need to give you one," Harry rephrased. This seemed to hit a spark in Edward's mind and he started pacing a little more thinking. He paused several times to glance at the three of them skeptically, but shook his head and resumed his pacing. After a little while he snapped his fingers and hopped down in the chair in front of them. His golden eyes blazed fire at the students, more specifically on Harry.

"As I have heard," Edward said, "You managed to kill a dark lord, not only once, but three times over. Tell me everything," he finished. A mischievous glare filled the young professors eyes and Harry couldn't help but be slightly afraid.

….

In truth it seemed that Edward was asking a very dull question, and it was, but aside from the fact that the story was fairly amusing to listen to, Edward had hope that answers might be revealed. No one can die three time unless they know something. As the three of them told their stories starting with Harry's childhood, Edward was fully intrigued. He was able to write a couple notes down in his journal without looking too evading, but Edward wanted to know more. When the story caught up to the present, Edward continued to write notes down until one of them interrupted him.

"Professor, this information is known by almost everyone, why would you want to ask us about it?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, it hardly seems equivalent if it is nearly common knowledge," Ron said. Edward gave out a small chuckled at them. They seemed a little taken aback.

"Firsthand accounts are always more enjoyable and more reliable. Anyway, considering what I told you about my experience, haven't you wondered how this Voldefart guy was able to come back over and over again?" Edward paused to see the three nod their heads. Ron snickered a bit at his mispronunciation of the Dark Lord's name. Ron never liked it when people actually said it, but when Edward said that, it seemed more belittling and acceptable. "I know you call what he does dark magic, but I am guessing it follows the same principles of alchemy and the circle of life. This man either is using a philosopher's stone, or found a way to keep his soul alive until another body is found. Considering the fact that he was trying to obtain a stone on your first year, it has to be the latter. And no one could survive turning to dust two times or a rebounded killing curse."

"You aren't trying to find how to make a soul right?" Hermione asked warily. Edward glared at her and shook his head.

"Do you think I am seriously that stupid to try it again?" he asked them tautly. "No, I am trying to find how to kill this guy. Like your country, some shit is going down in mine, and this can be the difference between life or death. Anyways, if I find out how to kill him, I will make sure to tell you about it. It seems we both need this information." Edward placed his book on the desk and led the three of them out. It was nearly time for their evening classes and Edward needed to check up on the library one last time.

….

The week went by and Edward spent most of his free time in the library. Along with researching and trying to crack the code of Flamel, he was researching the restricted section for anything on eradicating bound souls. The trio would wind up meeting him in the library to do their assigned homework and they would study together to research information on Hagrid's case. Edward's alchemy classes were going along great considering that the Weasley twins managed to find a way to weaken the joints on everyone's chairs. Detention was given and served for the rest of the week. Neville seemed to be getting along just fine. He seemed a little down trodden with the departure of his brother and constantly asked questions about them. Edward didn't quite know himself. Though the breach in the mailing system was found, it was not fixed. Certain letters were still being blocked and Hawkeye couldn't get her hands on any more letters without being completely suspicious, though Edward had a feeling that the Fuhrer already knew about it.

Thursday, Edward stood at the front of his classroom teaching his early morning fifth year class. It was a rather cheery morning and the spring sun shone through the window and warmed the room in patches of light. The class seemed to be fidgety that day since it was such a beautiful day out. Fred and George would not stop talking about their evening quidditch practice that they were going to have that evening. Edward too, had an urge of hay fever and wanted to go outside and maybe battle the willow again, but he restrained. Finals were coming up in only two months and these kids needed to learn a hell a lot of more material if they wanted to pass. A burst of laughter came from behind him as Edward was writing a few notes about the state changes of matter. He turned around to see that Fred let go a small fire cracker in the classroom which spun around spraying tiny sparks everywhere. The entire class lit up in excitement as they watched the tiny thing spin around. Edward clapped his hands and placed them on the floor, where a stone pillar shot out of the ground and smashed the cracker like it was a bug. With the sudden silence of the class, Edward heard the small crackling of the fire die out.

"Sorry to burst your bubbles," Edward said to the upset students, "but I don't think that setting off fireworks is any way to learn alchemy."

"But professor," one of the slytherins complained. "It is such a nice day out, can't we learn something outside?"

"No," Edward stated flatly and went back to writing notes on the board. An ocean of moans hit him in the back of the head.

"how about we learn something more fun?" a gryffindor suggested.

"Alchemy is fun!" Edward retorted, but another wave of moans hit him again. He turned around to where the class was slumped over their desks in complete boredom. He rolled his eyes at their over exaggeration. "Fine," Edward said giving in. "Let's do an experiment." The class cheered as Edward prepped and extra lab table for science. He quickly transmuted a bucket and filled it with water. He clapped his hands and touched the sides of the bucket to start boiling the water. The class crowded around the table thoroughly confused at what he was doing. Edward went over to the storage cabinet he had and pulled out a small bottle of chemicals. He shuffled through the crowd and dumped them in.

"What is that professor?" Angelina asked him. He stirred the ingredients in until he was satisfied.

"My lesson is about changes of state. As you know it is easy to change state by changing the temperature of the object. I will be freezing this water along with the Sodium acetate I put into it." The class groaned. It seemed completely boring. They knew how to freeze water. You place it in an ice chest! However, Edward clapped his hands and touched the bucket, nothing happened.

"Are you sure you did it right?" George asked him as the water refused to turn to a solid. Edward stepped back to let the students a closer look at the contents.

"Yes, I did. But if you don't believe me, why don't you touch it?" Edward said mischeviously. Some of the students backed away cautiously and Fred and George gave each other nervous grins. Each slowly reached down into the bucket and touched the fair liquid. In an instant ice formed around in swirling patters around their fingers. The class awed at the transformation and each began to poke the bucket and create their own patterns of ice. Being satisfied with the experiment, Edward grabbed the bucket and walked back up to the front of the class. He set it aside to be separated later. The students were all talking wonders about the mysteries of science and stuff like that, but they snapped to attention when Edward wrapped his fingers on the black board. "If you want to know how to do it, you might want to take notes," he said with a grin. The class quickly grabbed all of their quills and parchment and began writing down everything he did. After a good two boards of notes, Edward drew a freezing circle one the chalk board. Just as he was about to introduce it to the class however, the door burst open and four well robed men walked into his classroom. Two of them looked beefy as if they were body guards of security police, one of them was short and round with an overly joyous complexion, and the other was tall sleek and had platinum blonde hair. It was no doubted Draco's father. The Slytherin side of the class room stared meekly down at their notes as the four people made their way over to where Edward stood, but the Gryffindor side adorned perfectly unison grimaces as the casually glanced up at the ministry's men. The short fat man walked up to Edward, and he identified him as Cornelius from the pub in Hogsmede. Edward gave the class a look that told them to keep writing the notes he had up on the board as the minister led him to a quiet corner of the room. Edward knew that the students would be listening in on their conversation, but he hoped that they would have the better sense not to interfere. Lucious looked down at him and snarled a bit at his complexion.

"I knew that you were young, but midget wasn't really what I had in mind," the man said. Edward fumed, but with great effort managed to keep everything under control. He let out a steamy breath of air and sighed.

"Nice to meet you Lucious Malfoy, I was wondering when I would have the pleasure," Edward gritted through his teeth. The words were painful and his temper was boiling.

"That is Mr. Malfoy to you, you muggle," the man snapped, but Cornelius calmed him down.

"I am sure that you are aware that the ministry has a few questions we would like to ask you. If you would please come with us, we would like to take the hearing under way," Fudge said happily. Edward was appalled by his optimistic tone. This was his job they were talking about and he seemed happy that he was dancing along the line of losing it. However, he let it go and let out a sigh.

"May I at least finish my lesson first? I will leave with you after the class is finished. This information, though basic, is essential," Edward asked them quietly.

"What gives you the right to deal out orders?" Malfoy snapped.

"Well, figuring that we are both government officials, I being equivalent to a major, I do believe that I have a say in the matter. If you would like I could let you sit over there near the window, or you could stand out in the hall. You choice, but this class needs to finish their teachings for their final exam," Edward said back at him. The man was absolutely pissed at him, Edward was happy with the result. Being the kinder of the lot of them, Cornelius agreed to letting him finish the class. There was only a few minutes left in the block, but it was enough to explain how to safely use a freezing array and give the student their homework. It seemed however, that the students were as disheveled like he was. Having four ministry goons breathing down your back was a bit disturbing. When the class was finished, most of the students ran out of there as fast as they could. Fred and George walked up to his desk, where Edward was packing his duffle with a few books, and handed him their late homework. Edward glanced at it a bit and looked up at them. They gave him a reassuring nod and rushed out of the room. Malfoy scoffed at the two boys, much to Edward's dislike, and snatched the paper out of his hands.

"What is this mess?" he snarled at him as he tried to read the mess of science equations and conversions. Edward snatched it back out of his hands with a glare.

"It's science homework. If you failed to realize that this is a science class," Edward snipped at him. The man red in the face turned on his heel and stalked out of the room. The two burly men behind him, pushed Edward out as well and marched him down the hall like he was a persecuted criminal. Edward glanced at the clenched piece of paper in his hands. The Weasley twins did do their homework, but they also did a little extra credit. On top of their perfectly drawn alchemy arrays, was a pattern of elements. _Argon, thorium, uranium, rhenium, tungsten, arsenic, lithium, yitrium, magnesium, germanium, lithuim, sulfur, tantaium, dysprosium, oxygen, 2fluorine, iodine, chlorine, aluminum._

_ArThURe WAsLiY MgGeLi STaDy OFFIClAl_

_Arthur Weasley Muggle Studies Official_

Edward bore an invisible grin.

**...**

**I just want to put in fun fact. That experiment that he did in class is real! Look it up online or on youtube(which I guess is still online) But it is pretty cool. I won't say try it at home, but hey, if your parents, science teacher, or I don't know best friend say okay then by all means do it. Just don't eat it... This is also a form of art that people use. They make sculptures and paintings by adding colour or spreading the water around in certain ways. Just throught that you would like to know that. I was originally going to put a reaction of sulfur and water together, but that didn't really go along with the lesson of state changes. **


	19. Trials and Ancient Rivals

**Thankyou for all of the reviews! Okay... if it isn't obvious, here is the next chapter. The trial! yaya! Okay... I hope you like it. Tell me anything if there is a typo or some sugestions. Thankyou everyone!**

CHAPTER 19

Trials and Ancient Rivals

"What?" Harry, Ron, and Hermione gasped at the same time. George and Fred were panting from their run through the castle. As soon as Edward was taken away, they ran as fast as they could to their younger brother and friends. As it turned out, they were all in the library researching for their latest potions theme.

"Yeah, they took him away," George repeated.

"For a trial of some sort."

"They are not going to let him off easy."

"With Malfoy with them and all." The five of them slumped down in their chairs completely defeated. Their friend was basically running along his death march to the ministry. Being a muggle with a wizarding job was definitely not going to go down well with all of those non magic haters in the ministry.

"What are we going to do?" Ron sighed nearly tearing his hair out of his head. "We already failed one to prove Buckbeak's innocence, now Ed's next!"

"Ron! They aren't going to kill him!" Hermione snapped. "Are they?" the three of them remembered the warning that Edward gave them the other week when they confronted him. Shivers were sent down their spines at the thought. The twins gave each other questionable looks at their reaction, but shrugged it off.

"We sent an owl to Dad, but it is Errol so it won't make it there in time," George said.

"We also told Edward to try and contact him, but I don't know how much leeway the ministry will give him," Fred added. Harry stood up and closed the heavy potions book he was holding.

"All we need is a faster owl. It isn't that far for the owl to fly with all the passages hidden around," Hermione said. Everyone looked at Harry but he shrugged.

"I sent Hedwing off only this morning, he won't be back until tomorrow," Harry said. They all let out desperate moans.

"It's hope less, we can't leave the castle, and even if we did we wouldn't get into the ministry or the trial without being stopped. Edward is doomed!"

"Wait!" Ron snapped his fingers. "Scops!" Harry and Hermione's faces lit up.

"Scops?" George asked, but Fred knocked him upside the head.

"The bird!"

"Oh, that tiny thing!" George said instantly remembering the annoying little bird that always slept on Edward's desk. "Are you sure that it can fly?" he asked.

"Yes, it is a bird after all," a snippy voice came from behind them. The five of them turned to see a short blonde haired slytherin standing behind them.

"What do you want?" Ron scoffed at the boy. Draco returned it with a rude gesture.

"Nothing, I just heard that you were talking about owls. After all with that run down bird of yours I thought you might be looking for a new one. I was thinking that with the size of Scops, you might just be able to afford it since it is the fun sized one. Maybe you could actually buy more than one who knows. Though I bet you won't need to. Scops carried a hundred letters in one delivery, which might be enough to get Christmas sweaters to at least half of your relatives Weasley."

"Back off Draco, or I will give you something else to worry about that our financial arrangements!" George threatened. Draco casually held up his hands in false surrender and dashed around the corner of the book shelves. He told them what he knew, that was all. Harry and Ron rolled their eyes at each other. Draco would always butt in where he saw fit and would always find a way to snap about the Weasley's wealth.

"I can't believe it," Hermione mumbled and started to rush out the door. The four boys followed her and they all basically ran through the corridors of the castle. "Draco! He said that Scops carried a hundred letters one time all the way from Amestris! That is enough power to get a single letter to the ministry by the afternoon! We can still warn Mr. Weasley!"

The twins let out a few hollers of victory as they sprinted towards Edward's deserted office. Scops was sitting on the edge of the desk buried in the giant fluffy hat that their teacher kept there just for him. Hermione searched through the desk for a piece of parchment and a quill while the Weasleys fought over who would address the envelope. They scribbled down the information and Hermione, after ripping the envelope out of the red heads' hands, gave the letter to the six inch bird. The flammulated owl seemed a bit annoyed at the pestering teens and turned its head away from them in an attempt to tune them out. Hermione kept urging a letter towards the tiny bird while the twins searched around the room for any type of owl treat to tempt the little thing with. Scops hopped out of the hat flew onto a high chandelier out of the students' reach in an attempt to escape the attention of the room.

"Come on Scops!" Harry yelled at the owl. "Ed is in trouble!" The owl however, seemed very quaint in its new perch. Ron snatched the hat off of the desk and tried to get the bird to fly down into it.

"Here Scops!" he called over and over again. Instead of coming down from the chandelier in a calm manner however, Scops flew down and started to peck at the kid's head. It didn't like it that his nest was being picked up by a grimy teenager. Ron started to panic and dropped the hat back on the table. "Make it stop!" he screamed. Fred ran over and shooed the tiny owl off of his brother and Scops flew down to nestle into the polecat hat.

"It seems Scops has even a shorter temper than Edward does," George said walking back to them from the cabinets with a couple of mouse treats in his hand. The owl glared at him and turned its head away. Hermione took one of the owl treats out of George's hand and placed it on top of the envelope.

"Scops, this is urgent. You need to take this to Arthur Weasley at the Misuse of Muggle Implements section of the Ministry of Magic. Edward is in serious trouble," she said pushing the letter back towards the bird. It eyed the mouse, the letter, and then the five teenagers as if contemplating whether to agree or not. In the end, Scops snatched the mouse off of the top of the letter and stuck out his leg for Hermione to tie the piece of paper to. The bird had work to do.

…

Edward sat in a single wooden chair in the middle of a circular solitary room. It felt almost like he was being held prisoner instead of just answering a few questions at a hearing. The people who sat above him in what looked like stadium seats shifted around nervously like he was going to attack them. With the looks a couple of them were giving him, he might have if his hands weren't for some reason cuffed to the chair. Wizards seemed to be afraid of everything. Edward grumbled to himself as Lucius Malfoy stood up from his seat and glared down at him.

Edward barely even remembered how he got there. One minute he was walking down through the grounds of Hogwarts being tailed by two huge goons, the next he was magically teleported to this cold stone chamber system. Like any way of transportation, Edward did have to try to retain his breakfast. It seemed that they couldn't go anywhere without spinning through a giant vortex. Lucius was annoyed at his lack of magical knowledge and he bet was going to use that full throttle at the hearing.

"Edward Elric, a child soldier, who is from a country we know very little about and has a background like wise. He is known as a weapon of the military with his alchemy and he is teaching here at a school that due to his muggle heritage, he has no place to be in," Malfoy announced to the rest of the court. Edward kept his eyes locked on the glaring devil at all times. He had it in for him. Some of the other court officials were scribbling down notes and nodding their heads in agreement. Lucius went on.

"What do you suppose that Edward is doing here teaching our children? He could simply be teaching them alchemy, or he could be throwing their lives in danger with his little shenanigans." Edward churned at the word little, and the man knew it. Malfoy waved his magic stick around and a set of stairs appeared out of nowhere from the stands down into the circular arena. He and a couple of other prosecutors walked down and stood in front of him like an interrogation, which it was.

"For example," Lucius said menacingly to him as the thin blonde paced around Edward's chair. "On the second of October, were you not visited by another alchemist, a Colonel Mustang?"

"Yes," Edward grumbled out. A smile twisted on the old man's face.

"And only two days later, you had a very destructive fight with him that ended in the near death of the three of you. Am I correct?"

"Now you are over exaggerating," Edward snapped at him. "Everyone, including me and my officers, were completely safe. There were spells around the place to keep everything contained. The fight was a physical examination by my officer in order for me to keep my ranks."

"Why did you join the military in the first place?" a sweet tiny voice said behind him. Edward tried to turn his head to see who it was but being trapped in the bulky chair restrained him from doing so.

"I needed a job to support me and my brother after my mother died," he stated flatly. He heard some scribbling of people taking notes. Edward looked up at the seats and saw a white bearded man looking back at him; Dumbledore.

"I see," the woman's annoying voice came again. Edward really hated how innocent her voice sounded, it was all but that he knew. "How come you didn't go to your father, or a neighbor for help?"

"If I remember correctly, this was supposed to be about my job, not my life. If you wanted to know, my father left us when we were little and my neighbors could have supported us, but I needed to find a way to pay off for my surgery that I had." Edward wished that they would just stick with the task at hand instead of interrogating him on his personal matters. He heard a few footsteps from behind him and a short round lady appeared in front of him. She looked absolutely quaint and way too comfortable in her position for Edward's liking.

"What was the surgery for might I ask?" she said as sweet as rhubarb pie. Edward could have barfed.

"What does this have anything to do with my occupation? It isn't a hazard or anything. There should be laws to stop discrimintation against… against this" Edward said nearly missing the word crippled or disabled. He didn't want any of them ever thinking that. The words sound terrible and he bet that they tasted wretched.

"Well, we just need do know how _able_ you are in case any situation a raised. We don't want someone incompetent to teach our children now don't we?" she said nastily. Edward glared at her, she was running a dangerous line. "Now tell me, what had you in dire need to join the military?"

"If you roll up my pant leg, I could show you," Edward said slyly with a mischievous grin. She looked absolutely befuddled at his answer and could have slapped him for his suggestion. Edward really wasn't suggesting anything, but she didn't know that.

"I am a woman and I will not be talked to like that! Especially by a muggle dog like you!" she raged and stormed a few paces away.

"Delores," a voice rang out from the hall. "He is not trying to make a mockery of you. Do as he says, it is not a lie." Dumbledore stood from his seat and made his way down to where Edward sat in the chair. The little witch however, looked angrily at Edward and did not try to go near him. Edward attempted to lift his pant leg by rolling it up with his other foot since his hands were bound. He just barely succeeded and a small flash of metal went around the room. The place was filled with gasps and rapid fire of notes as Delores and Lucius stared at his leg. He hated being gawked at like that, it made him feel crippled. Dumbledore placed a hand on Edward's shoulder and looked about the room eyeing both of the prosecutors.

"As I remember correctly, the Ministry has a rule that says no one's chances of employment should be damaged by previous occupations," Dumbledore stated looking up at where Cornelius Fudge sat on his high chair. "The fact that he is in the military should follow this. As of now, let us get on with the hearing and provide some useful information instead of flustering pointless questions on him."

"Very well," Cornelius said. "Why don't we take a fifteen minute recess? Everyone back in here by ten."

….

"You people take a lot of precautions," Edward said rubbing his sore wrist. He and Dumbledore were standing out in the abandoned dark corridor outside of the hearing chamber. It reminded Edward more of a dungeon than a court house. Luckily when the minister called for a time out, Edward was let go as well. He probably couldn't have stood another fifteen minutes in that chair with everyone staring at him like he was a new species of animal. Dumbledore let out a sigh.

"It is sadly because we get a lot of violent wizards in here. Usually with civilians like yourself, they refrain from using the restraints but I am guessing hearing the news of your assessment really got them wired up. Not to mention, your attitude didn't quite help the case either."

"It was that snake man and toad lady! They were prying into things that shouldn't be necessary and implying things that I would never do! I would never perform an alchemy exam if it had people's wellbeing on the line!" Edward retorted.

"But they don't know that Edward. Here anything is possible. You need to learn how to keep your temper under control. I am afraid to say that some of the wizards in there are very racist and you right now, not only represent yourself, but your country and the art of alchemy."

"I don't get politics at all! What do I do if they start questioning me on wizarding mumbo jumbo? I don't know any of that! All I know is alchemy!" Edward said starting to panic.

"Don't worry Edward we will find a way through this. I know that they will ask about your muggle heritage, but we have had one muggle in the castle before so this shouldn't be any different." Just then they heard the pounding of footsteps coming from down the dark corridor. A man flew down the hallway papers flying in every direction. He carried a brief case under his arm and several files in the other. A tiny owl was perched on his head trying to stay on as he sprinted down the way towards them.

"I am here! I am here! I got the notice, I am here!" the man panted Edward looked at him questionably but then noticed that he had red flaming hair. It was probably Arthur. The red head looked up at him a bit tired from his race, but gave a genuine smile. "So you are Ed? I heard a lot about you. My sons sent a letter with your owl," he said taking the small bird off of the top of his head and handing it to him. Scop's feathers were all ruffled from fright after Arthur's sprint down the corridor. "Amazing bird you got there."

"Uhhh, Thanks," Edward said setting the tired bird in the large pocket of his coat. Just then a soft bell rung out through the hall, and Edward nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden noise. Arthur clapped his hands together and pushed the short muggle back into the chambers.

"Let's do this!" Arthur said excitedly. "I heard that first cases are always the best!"

"Wait! First case!" Edward exclaimed. The only thought that rang through his head was that he was doomed. The large doors closed behind them and the second part of the hearing began.

….

Edward's hands were restrained against the chair yet again and this time, even his feet. He guessed it was because of the relevance of his automail to the court or because they realized that he could still move freely without them restrained. Arthur and Dumbledore put up a fight about having to take such precautions against him, but majority rules and almost the entire court voted to have him restrained. Scops, not liking to be crushed in his coat pocket, perched on the corner of his chair and fell asleep in the hearing. A loud hammer hit a block of wood and the hearing began again. Lucius entered the pit now glaring at the fumbling Arthur instead of Edward to make his percussion.

"Edward Elric, if you already had a job, why did you apply for Hogwarts teacher?"

"I didn't apply, I was assigned. The Fuhrer sent me specifically for this job, my commanding officer signed me off as well. I had no choice," Edward said.

"Surely they couldn't have chosen you because you were the best suited for the job," the man went on. "Out of all the alchemists in the country, why did they pick a fifteen year old brat?" Edward seethed.

"Since you have obviously come to ignore the fact, I guess I will have to tell you," he gritted through his teeth. "I am a genius, that's why. A State alchemist title isn't easy to get. You must know and be able to perform a lot of alchemy. I was obviously a good choice knowing a well-rounded selection of alchemy and the different branches of the science. If you picked a random alchemist out of the lot, the chances are that you would get a highly tuned specialist who only knows reactions in their field. Though I specialize in manipulating metals and stone, I am well rounded in many other forms of alchemy."

"I also requested the aid of a Van Hoenheim," Dumbledore said. Some of the wizards nodded in acceptance since they knew that he was a well-respected and accomplished alchemist. Dumbledore walked around to address the court. "This," he said pointing his hand back at Edward, "Is his eldest son. A clearly logical choice of the military to pick him for the position might I say so myself."

"But he said that his father left him when he was little. How do you expect that the genius of Hoenheim's age was passed down to him? He obviously wasn't there to teach him anything." Edward glared at Delores.

"Books," Edward said simply. "My father left his research notes and alchemy books. I self-taught myself until I was old enough to get a teacher for myself. I know how to read." There was a pause as a few people took notes. Lucius and Umbridge paced around the room together as if in unison.

"Am I correct in stating that you have no magical ability?" Lucius asked him.

"Yeah," Edward retorted. The man obviously was one of the racists that Dumbledore warned him about.

"If that is true," he began, "Then how is it that you are able to perform alchemy?"

"As I told my students and everyone before them, alchemy is a science. It is not magic, it is not the acts of God, it is pure hearted science. Anyone can learn it."

"If that is so, then why is it being taught at a magic school? I thought that Hogwarts was a place to learn the arts of magic and wand work, not muggle science and behaviors. This class is obviously not a suitable part in the curriculum and shouldn't even fit in the wizarding world." Edward glared at the man, but didn't really know how to reply. He didn't know what type of magic they were looking for, but as far as alchemy went, he had none. However, Arthur had his back and stepped up to the plate for the face off.

"I would like to inform you that not all of the classes in the school contain magical elements to them," Arthur stated pulling out a few loose notecards from his giant folder. Malfoy rolled his eyes in disgust at the man, but Edward gave him a warning glare. "Astronomy is a science discovered by muggles and was used as an ancient form of navigation. It is currently being taught at Hogwarts by Aurora Sinistra. Muggle studies, taught by Charity Burbage; Herbology, is taught in the muggle world though with different species of plants, taught by Pomona Sprout; Ancient Runes, taught by Bathsheba Babbling. This list goes on. Alchemy, though is a muggle science, can be incorporated into this list. It is nothing new." The evil man glared at Arthur but turned back to Delores to discuss their next shot. Arthur turned to Edward with a small smile and gave him a thumbs up. It was his first case, which had Edward in fright, but it seemed he was doing pretty well at it. Not being able to move his hands, he returned the gesture with a grin. The court room seemed to be scribbling down more notes and discussing the events to each other. Edward could hear their change in attitude by the tones of their voices. Arthur proved a very valuable point. However, the dream team was not done with his persecution. Delores took the stand and faced off with Elric for round two.

"In the Wizarding world we have laws to prevent any muggle interference with our culture. This is to protect both of our societies for the greater good. Having not just Mr. Elric enter the castle, but also four of his muggle friends, goes completely against what we have been trying to preserve for the last millennia!" Delores said stiffly. "This should not be an exception. If we let one of them walk around a school freely, soon we will have more! The laws cannot go unbroken without punishment!"

"It is impossible to preserve a culture," Edward stated flatly. "No matter what you do, new ideas and fields are just going to come into play. We are just dust in the wind if you look at it. Take the Roman Empire for example," Edward said remembering a muggle studies history book Irma threw at his head in the earlier part of the year, "They were thought to be a lasting pure civilization. Now where are they? Stamped on the back of several history books."

"What the boy is trying to say is, that though the laws have been stated, this yet again isn't a first time occurrence and certainly shouldn't be the last," Arthur said shifting around for some more note cards. "Wizards and witches are currently able to be married to their muggle counterpart and live happy lives with mixed cultures. The laws don't prevent us from mixing the cultures or even accepting muggle born students into our society. Edward Elric is simply just another addition to our wide cultured world."

"But he is pure muggle! No magical heritage in him at all. At least muggle borns, no matter how little the blood, can be traced back to some sort of magical lineage. He has none. We can't tarnish our civilization any longer by admitting…. Them into it!" Delores snapped back. Edward wanted to rip her throat out. She was talking about him like he wasn't even human, or sitting in the room at all. He wasn't an it, or one of them, he was a he.

"If you look on the back of this famous witches and wizards card," Dumbledore said pulling out a well-worn card out of a chocolate from box. "It has the image and information of Van Hoenheim, as you all know the esteemed alchemist and father of Edward here as I have mentioned before. We accepted him into our society by the gracious acts of Nicolas Flamel. Van is not a wizard and has no magical abilities, yet, he appears on this famous wizard card. We have accepted few, but still many, muggles into our society and Edward Elric definitely should not be rejected. Like father, like son." This had some of the witches talking frantically among each other. The whispers started low, but then they rapidly grew. Edward hated the fact that Dumbledore compared him with his father like that, but it seemed that it was working with the commotion that was going on. Lucius and Delores stared at them menacingly as Cornelius tried to get control of the court room.

"Quiet!" Fudge rapidly screamed as he repeatedly hit his mallet against the wooden block. It proved to no prevail however. Dumbledore ended up having to scream at the crowd. It amazed Edward, and slightly frightened him, at how loud that old man's voice was. He calmed down a bit when he realized that he was holding his wand up like it was a microphone, to which in that instance, probably was. The room quieted almost instantly and all eyes were on the circle. The old wizard cleared his throat softly and looked up at them.

"Thankyou, I think the minister would like to say something," he said kindly like his outburst never happened. Cornelius gave the man a tight nod and addressed the court.

"I think that this hearing has been going on long enough. I think it is time to pull this in with a vote."


	20. Secrets of the Night

**Oh dear. I am sorry for the late update! SO VERY SORRY! I wanted to get this up before hand, but I had a full week and my health was sort of in question. I am better now and my schedule cleaned up so I will be able to write more! YAYYYYY! It was a little difficult to write this chapter, but i tried to make it go as smoothly as possible... well okay... I hope you like it. Remember, if you are wondering about the working status of my chapters or ptoential updates, I have statuses on my profile that explain what when where and why I am either able or not able to post. It is just to say that I am working and will be finished by... Well anyway, I hope you all enjoy!**

CHAPTER 20

The Secrets of the Night

Edward sat on the train with Arthur Weasley sitting across from him. Dumbledore simply abracadabraed himself out of the government facility, while the ministry, or Lucius, forced him to ride the train back with Arthur from the trial. He got to keep his job, after the 51:49 vote, however they made amendments to his magical amulet to make sure that he didn't do anything sporadic. Apparition and floo powder were some of them. The ministry didn't want him gallivanting all around the wizarding world. Since they didn't have a port key he was forced to use the train back to school with an over excited and very curious wizard. Arthur Weasley, though turned out to be a very great debator, was not as cued into muggle culture as Edward would have guessed. He kept asking him silly questions about postal service, telephones, and even their transportation systems. However, the thing that really got the man going was his automail. After it being revealed to the ministry, Edward had very little hope that the nation wouldn't hear about it. Arthur picked up his bare metallic arm and investigated it with fascination.

"This is truly fascinating!" Arthur exclaimed. He picked up Edward's foot and basically threw him off of his seat. Edward landed on the floor of the compartment with a thud. "I can't believe that muggles are so technologically advanced! This could revolutionize the wizarding world!" Edward tried to tug his leg back but had very little success. The man still had a strong hold on his foot and screamed in ill joy whenever his toes flexed. He reminded him of someone, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Why don't wizards use technology? Wouldn't it make everything easier for you?" Edward asked him and gave one last tug on his leg, freeing it from the iron grasp. The magical man gave out a sad sign in defeat and returned to his proper position in the chair.

"Wizards don't mingle in muggle affairs because we are afraid that everyone won't accept us the way that you do. Did you ever hear of the witch hunts in the medieval periods? That was the last time that the muggles knew about our existence. It ended in a massacre. Since technology is part of muggle culture, we threw it aside and started our own search into advancing in the magical arts."

"But that was over several hundred years ago!" Edward exclaimed at him. "Surely people should have changed their opinions by now! I mean, look at me! I had no clue this stuff exsisted, and I am still a little fuzzy and skeptical on how it all works, but it isn't the craziest stuff out there!"

"Well, I am afraid that you stray from popular belief, Edward," Arthur chuckled a bit. "Most people are scared of the unknown." Edward let out a bellowing laugh that startled Arthur a bit.

"I know how that feels, but that doesn't mean that you can't even acquire a simple telephone system around here!" Edward chuckled. Arthur joined him and they were laughing for a bit and talking back and forth about each other's cultures. Edward let Arthur inspect his arm in order to get a feel for how they worked. The sky slowly darkened as they approached the school. After a little bit Edward decided to pull out his notes and study a bit.

"What are you planning on doing after the school year is over? It is only a month till the finals, are you planning to go back to your parents?" Arthur asked quietly. Edward didn't look up at him from his book. The man was kind, but stupid. Did he honestly believe that if Edward had parents that he would be working a job? Arthur missed out on the part of the trial where the toad was interrogating him on his life, so he couldn't have known.

"I don't have any parents," Edward mumbled and scribbled down a random sentence in his notes. "I probably will be going back home to my brother and then do some travelling for his health." There was an awkward silence as Arthur mulled over his pitiful statement.

"I am sorry, I didn't know," Arthur said softly. "Is your brother ill?"

"I guess you could say that," Edward said. "I have been trying to help him, but the Colonel keeps sending me out on missions and trips. I expect the world to blow up by the time I am through with it."

"Well, Edward, if you ever need to get away for a while, our house is always open. You can come by anytime to visit. Just send me a letter and we will pick you up by port key." The train pulled up to the station and gave their compartment a tiny lurch. Edward thanked the man and grabbed his duffel off of the rack. As he headed down the platform, Arthur called out behind him.

"Hey Edward! Take care of yourself out there!" He turned around and gave the man a light hearted smile. After waving him goodbye, Edward made his way on the long hike towards the castle.

…

Edward didn't know why the train was always so late arriving to the school but the darkness made the borders of the forest look like solid black curtains. Several wolves howled in the distance and he could here different types of animals scurrying about beneath the darkness. He tried to ignore them and continued his walk in. At least it wasn't raining. After a good mile of the hike, the full moonlight shone down from the sky and lit the path for him. It was a smoothed out dirt road and the weeds were tangling around the edges. It was quite beautiful if you took the time to look at it. He didn't really get a good view of it since it was pouring rain the last time he walked down the path.

All of a sudden there was a loud shuffle to his left. Edward turned his head to see a giant black dog staring back at him. Steamy breath panted out of its mouth as yellow devilish eyes were locked on its target. It looked like the one that he saw in the castle a few months ago, but something was different. The dog still didn't pounce on him like all the others and didn't seem to be attacking at all, so Edward decided maybe to just leave it where it was standing. He moved his leg to take a step but a low growl started to come from the animal's throat. He immediately froze and looked down at the thing. The eyes were blaring and its body was tense. Edward relaxed his own body and the dog stopped growling at him. He took a step it growled, he stepped back, it stopped. Edward let out a huff of frustration, he couldn't go anywhere without aggravating the beast. He crouched down on the road and studied the dog. It didn't seem to be diseased, just easily provoked. With a closer look, Edward took in a shallow gasp. The dog was smiling. He staggered a few steps back. After he regained his senses, Edward quickly transformed his arm into a blade. The dog's smile faded and it looked completely pissed off again.

The dog growled and lunged at him. Just as the beast left the ground, another animal sped out of the darkness and tackled the thing to the ground. The two identical black dogs were fighting and gnashing at each other in the darkness of the trail. The one kicked the other off of it and they both separated their fight. Edward couldn't tell which one was which they were both the same, which is until they started to transform.

"ENVY!" Edward yelled at the transforming homunculus. He felt the homunculus turned to him and gave a mocking bow at him. "Get out of here!"

"Well, that's some big talk for a runt like you," Envy cruelly laughed at him. Edward raged and threw himself towards him. He swung at him a few times with his blade, but Envy clumsily dodged out of the way.

"I AM NOT SMALL!" He screamed at him and cornered the beast to a tree. Edward threw a punch, but Envy ducked at the last second and his automail fist collided with the wood. The homunculus backed away a couple of feet and waved his hands to try and calm him down.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey, I am just here to take you back!" Envy tried to reason, but he already pissed Edward off and reason wasn't going to get through to him. The alchemist charged him again.

"I am not going back yet! I am not through!" Edward took a round house but Envy ducked underneath it. He spun around to deliver another punch, but the green haired man caught his fist. "I just worked my butt of to stay here!" Edward panted. "I am not leaving just yet!" Just as Edward was about to make for another hit, a bolt of light came out of nowhere and hit Envy's side. The Homunculus was thrown into the side of a tree just off of the trail. Where the other black dog use to lie, stood a man pointing a wand in the creature's direction. His long black hair reached his shoulders and framed his sickly face. Edward was afraid that the man was going to fall over dead at any moment. He wanted to ask the man what he was doing there, but now wasn't the time. Envy moaned a bit and looked up from where he laid in a bush.

"What was that?" the homunculus laughed. "That really packs a punch! Need to get some more of that down in Amestris!" Envy chuckled a bit and slowly staggered to where they were standing in the road. He wiped a little blood off of his face and smiled at the stranger. Instead of attacking though, Envy just stood there like he was having an afternoon chat.

"However Mr. Wizard, my fight isn't with you, it is with the alchemist." He turned towards Edward and looked him over twice. Ed knew that Envy couldn't kill him until the time was right, but that didn't mean that he still couldn't beat him up and drag his ass back to Amestris. Edward carefully positioned himself in a sturdy stance and lifted his blade up close to himself to prepare for any attack, but the homunculus smiled. "You really don't get it do you? The reason why you had that trial was because I sent the information and photographs to those stupid magical humans. We need you back now. Father is getting ready."

"As I said before, I am not going," Edward scolded.

"Well, that isn't your choice to make," Envy said. He lashed out and threw a punch at Edward's stomach. He was too slow and caught the impact. As he tried to grasp some air, Edward threw his blade and caught Envy in the stomach. They both staggered back away from each other trying to overcome their wounds. Edward sucked in a huge breath as Envy's regenerative powers kicked in and his stomach started to close back up. The homunculus was up and ready before the alchemist was and tried to give Edward another taste of his fist, but another blast of light came out from the wizard's wand and Envy was sent back towards the ground. The creature struggled around a bit as if an invisible force was binding him together, but it proved no use.

"Come on! Let me go you stupid freak!" Envy raged at the pale white wizard. The man walked over to Edward and picked him up off of the ground. He shot a glare at the homunculus.

"You look like the freak around here," he retorted. Envy screamed and shifted his mass to get out of the invisible force. After turning into a snake, he was able to writhe out of his bonds and make a snap towards the humans. Edward shot his hand out and grabbed the snake's body just before its venomous mouth was going to hit the man. The tail whipped around and found a place to rest about his neck. The tail of the snake squeezed tighter around his trachea as Edward tried to pry it off of himself with his left hand, keeping Envy's lashing head at bay with his right.

"I guess I will just have to drag you back to Amestris myself, and maybe kill this little wizard friend you have here!" Envy chided trying to strangle Edward into submission. Edward fell to his knees due to the lack of oxygen, but kept a strong hold of the snake's head. The man tried to pry it off of his as well, but Envy's grip was unfaltering. Seeing little use in the struggle, the wizard grabbed his wand again and pointed it at the snake.

"Conjunctivitus!" he bellowed and a stream of light shot out of his wand and into the snake's eyes. Envy writhed in pain as his eyes watered and turned red from irritation. The constriction around Edward's through loosened just enough for him to get a good grip and free himself from it. He threw Envy to the ground, who turned back into his human form. The homunculus rubbed his burning eyes and glared up the wizard.

"Why you!" Envy shouted out and lunged at them. Edward clapped his hands and threw them on the ground. Large portions of the earth columned out of the ground and wrapped themselves around Envy. They were easily avoidable and the homunculus just shape shifted around them. Just as Envy was about to kick the wizard in the face, a giant spike of earth erupted out and impaled him in the gut. He let out a little gasp as the air was knocked out of him. The man pointed his wand at the struggling homunculus.

"Portus!" he shouted and for a second, Envy glowed bright blue. The light died down however and nothing else happened.

"Are you serious?" Edward exclaimed at the man. "You couldn't have torched him or something?"

"Looks like you ran out of magic tricks old man!" Envy chided and gave a pain filled laugh. However in a few seconds, Envy randomly started to spin around the spoke that he was stuck on as if he was a loose wheel. In an instant, Envy shot up into the air and out of sight into the heavens. Edward stared after the homunculus as if expecting him to return, but he never came back. The stranger walked over to him and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"I turned his clothes into a port key and sent him back home," the man's cold voice said. Edward was about to laugh at that, but caught himself. He finally got a good look at the man and realized that it wasn't just an ordinary wizard, it was the same criminal that supposedly helped murder Harry's parents; Sirius Black. His body froze for a bit as he looked up into the man's tired and dirty face. The man gave him a nice innocent smile, but Edward screamed. This startled Black and he took a few steps back to get away from the loud noise. The young boy ran down the road a few paces to get a good few feet away from the man.

"W-What are you doing here?" Edward screamed at him still trying to grasp the concept of what happened. Black uncovered his hurt ears and looked at him rather annoyed. He pocketed his wand as if thinking that Edward wasn't a threat to him. However, the alchemist was still on high alert with his fists raised.

"I am here to meet a friend of mine. I was making my way to the rendezvous point when I saw that thing attack you," Black said simply.

"But….. Wa?" Edward faltered a bit. Black just shrugged at him and started to walk off into the woods, probably the way that he was headed before. Edward stared after him for a few seconds and let out a sigh. He started to follow the creepy man. They walked for a little while in silence, stepping over roots and under branches of the low hanging trees. The moon barely broke the tree's branches, but there was just enough light for a sure navigation. Sirius walked sure footedly on the trail while Edward fumbled a bit. The man sure was talkative. After a little while of silence, Edward piped up.

"Why didn't you just let Envy take me?" he asked the dirty man. Sirius seemed to be contemplating an answer as his eyes grew a bit.

"You don't seem too afraid to be walking right next to a convicted criminal," Sirius replied very annoyed. Edward eyed the man for a little bit judgingly. The man didn't have a sense of malice in his voice.

"Tell me why. I don't think that a wanted criminal would take time out of his evening to save someone and risk getting caught. That is, unless you aren't guilty to begin with," Edward stated with a pulling smirk on his face. Black looked down and actually studied him for the first time. A smile of his own crept onto his face.

"You are quite bright for a young man," Sirius chuckled. They walked out through the woods into a clearing. They were standing on the opposite side of the lake, the full moon hitting the glimmering night waters. "I saw how Harry really respects you. I was there when you saved him from his fall at the quidditch game. For that, I deemed it right to return the gift you gave me and save you as well. I don't know what I would have done if Harry would have gotten hurt. It was because of me that he was even in that situation at all."

"What do you-" Edward started, but Sirius turned on him and looked into his eyes. They were cold traps of steal, but they did not hurt.

"You were right. I was framed. I am trying to right everything, but I can't do that if I get caught again. Harry is still my Godson, and he has the right to know this, but I beg you to not tell anyone I am here. Not yet anyways," Sirius said dead cold. Edward knew that this could have all been an elaborate trick, but for some reason he knew that it wasn't. Sirius was dead serious about it. He only saw that determination in one other person; himself. Edward gave a tight nod and looked back across the lake where the castle was standing. He still had a long walk back till he could get into his own room. Just as Sirius was about to part ways, Edward stopped him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait, I just have one question," Edward said. Sirius turned his head to look at him one last time. "Were you the dog in the Dark Tower?" The man laughed and nodded his head.

"Yes," he said simply and looked distantly back at the castle. "I would offer to walk you back, but you know." Just as they both started to walk away, Black shifted into a strange dog and galloped towards what seemed to be the whomping willow. Edward was a little distracted by the whole transformation that he didn't see where he was going and walked right into the water. He just couldn't have a normal walk back to the castle could he?

…

Edward climbed the stairs through the Grand Staircase towards his chambers. He couldn't help to think about his conversation with Black. It was completely out of the blue. Edward did owe him for helping him with Envy back there, but he was afraid that keeping it all a secret would bite him in the butt later down the road. There was definitely someone in the school that was helping him around the grounds. Severus was right about that, but who? He would have to talk to the potions teacher later about his search.

As Edward approached his portrait, he heard a loud commotion going on in his chambers. Falman and Fuery looked down at him with mischievous grins that they barely wore. Roy just rolled his eyes in their direction as they whispered something inaudible to each other. Edward never saw them this giddy unless they were planning on scarring Breda or telling something to Armstrong just to unleash his power on either Roy or him. Edward glared at the two and cautiously opened his chamber door.

"CONGRADULATIONS!" several cries rang out as Edward entered his own room. Several people including teachers and a few students like the Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry, stood in his bedroom with a giant lopsided cake. Edward was shocked to see them in his room, but he wasn't as shocked to see Dumbledore wearing a crazy party hat.

"What are you doing in my room?" he asked them a little annoyed. He loved parties, but after a long court meeting and a battle with Envy, he just wanted a relaxing night to sleep. Hagrid hobbled over to him with a face bleached red. He must have been drinking too much of that fire whisky again. He scooped Edward up in his big arms and gave him a bone crushing hug. Tears started to fall down his face and splash him in the face. He sobbed, Edward guessed, tears of joy or relief. It reminded him too much of Armstrong for comfort.

"I-I am so happy for you!" He sobbed. Edward had to use both his arms and legs to basically kick the man off of him. Hagrid sat down on his bed which gave out a loud whine from the weight. The twins, who were previously sitting on the bed had to move in order to relieve the frame of any excess weight. They galavanted over to him and grabbed him around the shoulder, pinning him a little reluctantly between them. George, who was on his right picked up his arm.

"Why didn't you tell us about the arm?"

"We could have done so much with that!" Fred echoed.

"Think of the possibilities!" they both exclaimed. Edward pulled his arm away from the two physics majors.

"I would have told you if I wanted to!" Edward retorted and escaped out of their reach. He knew that wizard news was fast, but that fast, he couldn't believe it. Edward shot a glare at Ron and Harry. He hoped nothing else was released about him. Even if it was the ministry who let the information slip, there was some things that shouldn't be public knowledge. Edward marched over to the center of the room where Dumbledore was merrily talking to McGonagal and eating a slice of cake. Edward recognized Hagrid's cooking anywhere. The red icing was sloppily piled onto the pastry with terrible spelling on the top. He was grateful, but now just wasn't the time.

"Dumbledore, I need to speak with you," Edward grumbled. Dumbledore smiled down to him and gave him a twinkling wink.

"Why don't you enjoy a piece of cake for a little bit? Today is a happy occasion!" Dumbledore announced.

"What?"

"It is your birthday isn't it? Not to mention the day you didn't lose your job," he asked a bit puzzled. Edward could have face palmed himself. He forgot about his own birthday. He normally doesn't think about it, and with all of the things that happened that day, he kind of wanted to forget about it. He looked around the room and saw everyone smiling at him. He gave out a sigh and looked back at the headmaster.

"Yes it is, but I am sorry, this is going to have to wait," Edward said. He saw a flicker in Albus's smile for a moment. "I need to speak with you, immediately."

….

Edward was pacing in the headmaster's office waiting for the rest of the faculty to gather around. Some of them were asleep so they had to be woken up and dragged into the emergency faculty meeting they were having. Dumbledore grabbed some more cake to share with the rest of the group. He didn't seem too bothered with the whole thing, of course he pulled across as old and senile to Edward. He let the students stay in his room if they wanted to just to keep them preoccupied. It was a shame that he had to call the birthday party quits. The faculty slowly gathered together, even Sybil was called down from her tower to attend.

"Edward, what is this emergency that you called us for?" McGonagal asked him with a yawn. Edward stopped pacing and looked at everyone in the room.

"Hogwarts is in danger," Edward stated flatly. Several teachers started to whisper back and forth to each other. "There are some people, from my homeland that….. didn't want me to leave. They are here to take me back."

"What do you mean? Are you in some kind of trouble?" Sprout shivered.

"No, more like….. a diplomatic error. I ran into one of them this night when I was walking back from the train station."

"Why were you walking back from the train?" Edward gave the teacher a glare.

"Because I can't magic myself anything," Edward graveled. He sighed and returned his attention to the rest of the knowledgeable faculty. "I was able to…. Ward this one off but I am afraid that it might be back, maybe not soon, maybe not even this year, but it is better to be safe than sorry."

"If you come from a muggle country," Snape said monotonously. "Then how much of a threat can these people be?" Edward tried not to take offense to that.

"They aren't people in technical terms," Edward said. That sent the whole room up in a fury of whispers and confusion. Dumbledore had to yell at them to quiet everyone down.

"What exactly are we dealing with Mr. Elric?" the headmaster asked calmly.

"Homunculus. I am a target of the homunculus," Edward said quietly. This sent the crowd up reeling again. Edward guessed that they didn't fully understand the ideas behind the creatures, but it seemed that Dumbledore did as the man shivered uneasily in his chair. Edward tried to quiet down the room and with very little success in his attempts, had the headmaster do it for him again.

"Surely the dementors would be able to help in this case. They weren't much help with the Black incidents but maybe-" Sprout started but was cut off by a wave of Severus's hand.

"Homunculus can't be stopped by dementors, for they don't have a soul to be used. The kiss would have no effect,"he stated. Aurora fainted. Edward, in the midst of her distraction, leaned over to him and whispered.

"It isn't that they don't have a soul….. They actually have about… a thousand or more," he informed him. Snape took a double take at him to make sure that he was serious. He was.

"You have got to be kidding me," he sighed. Poppy finally managed to take care of the astronomy teacher and the crowd was settled down yet again. "Why, might I ask, would you take a teaching position if you were being chased by these things?" he growled.

"I didn't decide to take the position, I was forced to by the Fuhrer and my commander. It wasn't my decision," Edward retorted. Snape graveled at him and Edward pushed him aside in order to talk to the rest of the faculty.

"There isn't much we can do in this case," Edward announced to them, "but if we keep an eye out, we might be able to keep anything further from happening. The homunculus don't know the full potential of magic yet. They seem vulnerable and naive to it and that will be a great advantage. I just needed to warn everybody about the potential danger." Dumbledore scratched his beard and the wizards and witches in the room seemed a little bit eased at the fact that magic was helpful in this case. Edward waited for the headmaster's answer and caught a quick flicker in the man's eye. It was suspicion. He glanced back at Severus, he had it as well.

"Edward, how long do you think we have until they return?" Dumbledore asked.

"All they want is for me to return back to my country, the fact that I am going back in a month might ward them off for a little longer," he reassured them. Some of the distant faculty gave him judging glances. He could tell that Snape wasn't going to be too joyous in the morning. The headmaster nodded and picked up his piece of cake again.

"Very well, we will keep a sharp eye out for them. I will have Lupin and Flitwick set up charms and wards around the school. I will advise to keep this all quiet from the students. As for now, since it is late, we will all leave for our chambers."


	21. Decoded

**AHHH! Sorry! This was supposed to go up a few days ago! Uggh! I am sorry. I just haven't been getting enough sleep and I tend to... have to sleep. Well anyways, I would like to point out that Spring break is coming up soon. YAY! which means... More updates! well, hopefully. I will have more time to write on the days that I don't have college visits. I hope you like this chapter. It wasn't on time, but I am actually very excited for it. Thankyou for your patience and your reviews. I will try more on these updates. (fun completely unrelated fact at the bottom)**

CHAPTER 21

Decoded

The students weren't too happy that Edward cancelled the party, but didn't hold it against him. They were able to keep some left over cake. Within the coming weeks of the finals, Edward had more paper work than they had homework. He spent most of his time trapped in his office filing and grading papers. He almost felt sorry for the Colonel, almost. When he demanded a breath of fresh air, Edward would just open all of the windows as far as they would go in order to put himself at ease, however he was still trapped inside. Ever since the faculty meeting, his relations with the teachers plummeted. They all seemed to hate him, but yet have the time to feel sorry for him. He guessed it was because of his age that they were trying to be kind to him at all after figuring out what his being meant for them. He would constantly over hear them talking about how children were never supposed to get into politics or how he was so unfortunate. Edward hated it, pity. Even Remus and Severus were withdrawing from him at meal times. The only person he could actually talk to was Madam Promfery, who always seemed to be busy with students who got hurt during their quidditch practices. Edward knew he deserved it, but it wasn't something that he could really help.

However though the lack of socialization with his colleagues was bugging him, the students wouldn't leave him alone. Once the news about his automail got out, they were always trying to make him show them it or tell them how he got it. They were worse than being ignored all together. It took several days and one huge outburst in his first year class for them to finally back off of him. He knew he was being harsh on them, everyone was curious, but there was a point at which it all had to stop. They never got a glimpse of his automail.

What made the following weeks even worse was that every time that Edward saw Harry, he was torturing himself from telling the boy about his godfather. There was this kid who had no family and a godfather he thought was a criminal, and Edward couldn't tell him that it could be better than that. He knew that it wasn't a big deal since Harry already knew that he was alive and all, but it could still put him in danger if he knew everything. Harry was sporadic and acted on impulse, just like Ed, and just like Ed, he would have gone out to search for him the first instant he found out. Though he trusted the Black was telling the truth about his innocence, in the eye of the government he was still a criminal. Edward just had to unknowingly disappoint the boy day after day after day.

The students were all eager for the end of the year feast and not to mention the quidditch finals coming up. Slytherin verus Gryffindor, Edward couldn't picture a more brutal match. With that in mind, he picked through the pile of tests on his desk and pulled out Harry's. It was a complete failure and the penmanship looked like it was written by a drunk man standing on a balance beam. The kid has been falling asleep during the classes and he seemed to be on edge with everybody. Edward called him to supervised study hall in order for him to pick up his grades and get some help on work. A few other students, including Draco Malfoy, were coming as well for their letters weren't too up to par. It must have been the stress from the quidditch match. Edward truly wished that the wizards wouldn't take so much of a liking towards their sports.

The clock struck five and the small group of students swarmed into his classroom. Edward, having completed a good chunk of his paperwork, turned back to the textbook for some research. When the fumbling of books and people stopped, he looked up at the lot of them. Draco looked slightly pissed and had a red hand print on the side of his face. Someone must have clocked him good, but Edward figured he deserved it. Boys usually deserved it; he even admitted that a couple of the wrenches he got hit with were his fault. The only person not there was Harry. Edward grumbled to himself. He got up and walked over to the door to see if he was coming. The corridor was empty. He walked back over to Scops and sent him out the window for the boy. These owls seemed to have a knack for finding people.

Harry came stumbling into the classroom ten minutes later trying to swat Scops away with his hands. The bird was pecking him and forcing him into the room. Edward grinned at the scene and gave Harry a smirk. Scops only backed off when the kid took a seat next to Draco. The slytherin shot glares at the kid, but nothing else. Edward did notice that Malfoy gingerly touched his tender cheek a little bit as if in defense, but he pushed it aside. With everyone in the classroom and ready to study, Edward sat back down and took his own time to do his own research.

Throughout the couple of hours that the students were there, Edward only got interrupted a few times when the students asked him some questions about their alchemy exam. He gave them a couple answers and went back to his decoding. After a few good hours, Edward dropped his pencil. He slowly stood up from his chair and looked at the class, who were all knee deep in their books, except for Harry who was falling asleep nearly on top of Draco, who didn't seem to be holding up too well himself.

"You may go," he said to them. The clock only read nine and the students whispered quietly amongst each other.

"But sir," a brave hufflepuff called out. "We are supposed to stay until ten."

"Well, I am saying you may leave now. My study hall is over early today," Edward said strictly. The students gave him a few blank and confused looks, but after an urging glare from him, they all hastily stuffed their books in their bags. As the group packed up, Edward took a sip of water from the glass on his desk and walked over to where the two quidditch players were sleeping. He dumped the glass over their heads. They jolted up sputtering.

"Get a room," he muttered to them. They looked at each other and nearly gagged at the realization. Draco quickly packed his things and scurried out of the room, while Harry lagged behind. He watched Edward scribble down notes and studying the text book.

"Professor-"

"Edward," he grumbled.

"Uh, Edward, is everything alright? You seem a little more on edge than usual," Harry yawned.

"Who you calling short?" Edward bursted. "Anyway, I wouldn't be talking. You are a walking mattress, nearly fall asleep in every class. If I were you, I would start with a good night's sleep before worrying about my problems." Harry just stared at Edward for a few minutes completely silent. Edward tried to continue his writing, but gave up when he saw that the boy was still there. He let out an exhausted sigh. He really wished that he could have told Harry about what he learned about his Godfather, but he had to keep it together. Stress really pushes boundaries.

"No Harry, everything is not okay. I just have too much to think about right now. There are more tests and papers than I can ever complete, I have several classes to teach, finals to make up, quidditch lessons to supervise, updates and mission reports for the Colonel, letters to my brother, and bloody research from this damn text book. I never thought that simple desk work could build up so fast."

"I thought you were used to it. You said you were a researcher," Harry stated.

"No, I am a field researcher, meaning that I rarely sit behind a desk unless it is on my own accord. It isn't the same. I have been trapped in this office for nearly two weeks now," Edward sighed and wrote down a few more words in his notebook. Harry looked down, but he couldn't read anything since it was all in Amestrian, however he did notice that Edward was still searching through the textbook. He was spending more and more time with it, Harry guessed that he at least read it a hundred more times than Hermione did.

Edward, why are you reading the textbook, I thought you knew all of this already." Edward dropped his writing utensil and looked up at him. A shimmer of innocence shone in Harry's eyes.

"Go get some sleep," Edward said softly. "I want you awake for class tomorrow."

"But-"

"No buts, I want you out. I don't mean to be rude," Edward said with a sigh, standing up from his desk and basically pushing Harry out, "But I have important things that I need to take care of. I need my office to myself for this." He gave the lightning scarred boy a little shove out the door. "I will tell you when the time comes, but for now…" He slammed the door in his face and pulled the blinds shut. Total solitude. He felt kind of bad about dumping the kid there, but like he said he had important things to do.

Edward rushed back to his desk and propped the book up. He pulled out his old tattered note book, the first one he ever had, and alchemically bound a few more pages into the back. He dipped his quill into the ink and started to read starting from page one.

_ In my search for the philosopher's stone, I have traveled throughout the world both wizarding and muggle to find anything on the note of immortality. As I found out, this is not a new goal. Many powerful people seem to be in search for this idea, but I stand fast to what I have promised myself, I will not share this information with anyone. My goals are for science. I have found helpful information along a simple country called Xerxes. They all seem to be knowledgeable in the arts of science, but not too close to magic as myself. However, their science, far away from test tubes and beakers like I have ever seen, seems to be closely related. Where they get their power, I will have to find out, for if this is what I believe it to be, the Sorcerer's stone might be closer to my grasps than I have imagined._

Edward's lips crept into a sneaky smile. He had it; the journal of Nicolas Flamel himself. This is what he was looking for and now he had it; word for word, page for page. Even though, he already knew the secrets behind the creation, this is information more valuable than a mountain of gold. He craved for it.

_I researched the XerXian libraries and spoke with many Scholars about the tales of Alchemy, but I found that most of my information came from a strange young slave boy. He had no name, but I do recall that his knowledge surpassed even the most privileged scholars, including myself. I asked him frequent questions on the limits of Alchemy, and he would always reply the same thing. "there are no limits if an alternate path can be found." It was the third time that he told me this that I asked him what he meant. It was in a flask, this creature that he held. It was living, it was breathing, but it was not human. I still don't know what it could have been. The word Homunculus seemed to be what it wanted to be called. I was truly afraid, but I couldn't yet let go of the idea that alchemy could do this, make a being from scratch. Alchemy had the potential to do much more. It was from this boy, that I learned most of my alchemy. It was from him that I learned that there were no limits to the mind, but only to the body._

_ After a while I had to say farewell to the boy and his friend, for I had much more land to see. I traveled to the newborn country of Xing, who was researching a fairly similar art of Alkahestry. Drachma seemed to know little much about these sciences, but a couple wizards, who were visiting for a family trip, pointed me in the direction of Creta and Aerugo. They had little to benefit with my search, but still possessed remarkable talents in the nonmagical sciences. Muggles are a thing of the future. However, on my search for the Stone and the immortality, I longed for the company and knowledge of the young boy once more. None of these places compared to the endless amounts of information that poured straight, from what seemed to be the boy's soul. I was at first worrying that I would not be able to find the slave boy again, being that in the many years I was gone everyone including me ran on with their lives and grew older. The young boy was now probably turning a man, if not already one. However I came to realize that I could not worry about searching for just one man, but an entire city. XerXes was gone, in what seemed like a pillar of flames that left nothing but ashen sand. The city was completely baren. A once large metropolis now nothing but the dirt it once stood on. It is still a mystery to me of how that came to be, maybe a bit similar to Pompeii or the Indus Valley. I spent almost a week in the ruins, which proved of ill luck. I pronounced XerXes a lost civilization of the modern age, whether it is cursed or just unfortunate for this fate to have fallen upon it._

_In my years of Travel, I finally returned home being that time changed me for the worse. I met a man in the train station of the likes that I have only seen once before. His golden eyes and accent were definitely not of this nation. He called himself Van Hoenheim-_

Edward shut the book just as the door unwittingly swung open. Snape and Remus walked both carrying grim and heavy expressions. They both stood over him, not even waiting for him to let them in himself. Remus, who normally was cheerful and carefree, gave him a glare that he only saw once before, in his teacher. Edward shivered bit thinking about Izumi at a time like this. He glared at the two of them as they watched him, and then turned back to his work.

"What do you want?" Edward mumbled. He still didn't forget the fact that they completely lost touch on all basis since the faculty meeting. The two of them barely talked to him anymore. For them to come into his office alone, it must be serious.

"Edward, we want you to tell us the god awful truth about what is going on in that country of yours," Remus demanded. Edward glanced back and forth at both of them for a little while. Their faces were stone serious. He gave a sigh slowly started to pack away his books.

"If I tell you, it would only get your country in deeper trouble than it already is. I am also not supposed to give out unnecessary information. As I hear, you are already preparing for a war, I don't think that you want in on this one," Edward said tiredly and quite frankly annoyed. He reached for his notebook but Snape grabbed his old leather book before he had a chance to do anything with it. "Hey!" Edward cried as he made a pitiful attempt to grab the book back, but Severus held it high out of his reach. "Give that back!" he demanded, but Remus stepped in between them.

"Edward, it is for the good of the students, and for you that we know the full story. Nothing left out. We need to know. We can help you all you need to do is trust us," Remus said stiffly, but to Edward's sake calmly.

"I do trust you, but it is stuff like this that make me question myself," Edward scolded them. He glared at Snape who held onto his notebook as a ransom. "You barely talk to me anymore, I hear you talking to the other teachers behind my back, and now you storm into my office demanding answers to questions that you undoubtedly know that I can't give answers to. What is wrong with you? If I would have needed your help I would have asked for it, or you could have at least acted like you cared at all."

"Talking a bit big for a teenager," Severus added. Edward glared at him.

"I am more of a man than you will ever be and I am only sixteen. You might not like it, I even don't like it, but I grew up a long time ago. I think that I can talk to you two any way that I want," Edward threatened him, not tearing his golden eyes from his onyx ones. He slowly held out his hand and motioned for the notebook. "Give me, my book," he commanded.

"Edward, tell us what is going on. I heard about what happened in the woods. Yes, I am sorry about the way we have treated you, but we are just trying to figure things out. We need to know everything about these homunculi. If we don't know what we are up against, this could get a lot worse," Remus said.

"Well, it can't! It can't get worse!" Edward retorted nearly shouting at his colleague. "My commander, my coworkers, and my brother are all counting on me and I can't tell you! They made me swear not to tell you! I told you enough as it is. Probably even saying Homunculus was too far. If you are such great wizards put the pieces together yourselves like I did! Figure it out for yourselves! If you want to jump into a pit of snakes head first, so be it, but I don't want them linking it back to me! Not with everyone else on the line," Edward heard a shuffle in the far corner of the room. He glanced and saw that his peers left the door wide open. He let out an angered cry and clapped his hands together. A hand of stone shot out from the ground and slammed the door shut.

"I thought I told you to stay out of this!" Edward shouted. Remus and Severus were a little shocked at his outburst, but it seemed that he wasn't focusing on them but rather something behind them. Edward charged over to the other side of the classroom and they heard the corresponding sound of retreating footsteps. Edward clapped his hands one more time and created a blast of air throughout the lower end of the room. In a wave, Harry appeared out from nowhere as the invisibility cloak sank to the floor.

"Get out," Edward hissed at the boy. Harry took every ounce of courage and peered over his shoulder to where the doorway was being blocked by a giant stone fist. Edward caught the notion and nearly boiled over. He grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and dragged him over to the chalkboard. He shoved the box of chalk in his hands. "You are in my alchemy class for pete's sake, figure it out for yourself!" he steamed and continued to drag Harry back over to the doorway. He dumped him there and tossed the wrinkled and dirtied cloak at him. Edward stormed back to his desk and continued his stare down at the teachers, who were still a bit baffled by his explosion and that the boy was there without them knowing.

"Give me back my notebook, now," Edward threatened one last time. Severus glanced down at him and smiled wryly. Remus put a hand over his face in annoyance as he knew what Severus was going to do. He was going to push the boy's buttons.

"Don't do it, Severus. We didn't want to pick a fight," Remus said, but the man wasn't paying attention. The Potion's master randomly flipped open the notebook and started to read its contents with a translation spell. Edward lunged out for it, but Severus simply held it up again out of his reach.

"January 11th, travelled to Liore with Alphonse, nice place, hot. Decided to take a trip to the chapel, found out we weren't religious… What is this?" Severus asked him. Edward grinned devilishly up at him.

"It is exactly what it looks like," he gritted. "That is my travel journal. You don't seriously believe that I leave all of my notes out in the open for anyone to read them. I would be a moron to do that!"

"So they're coded." Edward gave him a nod but still attempted to jump up and get the book from the man's grip. Harry, who was watching rather than trying to figure a way out of the room, thought he looked like a little child rather than an over accomplished teenager.

"Not even my brother knows my codes, and no one else knows it but me," Edward said. "These notes weren't meant for anyone but me. Now, give them back." Snape eyed him a bit and then looked at Remus, who shrugged.

"Well, we wizards, don't need to manually decode things," Severus hinted at him. Edward stopped jumping for the notebook and is body grew tense with anger. The man casually flipped one more page. "Tell us what is going on, help us keep Hogwarts as well as your country saf, then we will leave your precious notes alone. However, if you don't we will have to consider the idea that these notes contain everything that you won't say."

"I told you," Edward growled. "I can't tell you anything else about the Homunculi! I told you enough already in the staff meeting. I will be putting the school in greater danger if I told you anything else!" Snape sighed and pulled out his wand. Just as it was about to touch the pages, Edward couldn't help himself. He socked the man in the stomach with his left fist. The book and the wand went tumbling to the ground. Edward saw a flash of yellow light. His notebook fell to the floor open, completely translated into fine English, every bit of it decoded. Edward lunged for it and slammed the contents shut. He kicked the wand away from the wizard and glared and the potions master who was gasping for air.

"Don't you dare do that again!" he scolded him. Edward clung to the book like it was his life link. The pages were all pinned shut so that the British men couldn't even read a word. "This is no laughing matter! Lives are at stake here! People already gave up so much in order to keep this all contained, now I am the one who is keeping track of it all. If word gets out, it could travel. This is war. You two wouldn't stand a chance in it. Heck, you don't even know the meaning of war!" The room fell silent and Edward watched the two teachers focusing looks. He glanced behind him at where Harry was still sitting on the floor figuring out the transmutation circle. He stormed back over and clapped his hands together. He slammed them against the bolted door a little too forcefully and the barrier exploded outwards into the hallway, scattering dust in its wake. Edward just made the doorway to his classroom a whole meter wider.

"Get out," he hissed at Harry again. The boy grabbed his cloak and scurried down the hallway. Edward turned to where the two of them were standing a bit shocked again. He lifted his arm and pointed to where the door was supposed to be. "You too. Get out," he spat.

The both of them, Severus a little more beat than Remus was, picked up their things and walked over to where the door was. Edward's golden eyes were glued on them the entire time.

"Edward, it might not look like it, but we know war. These aren't preparations our country is making, the battle is going on right now. This information might be given at great risk, but it won't just help your country, but ours as well," Remus said to him softly. Edward's eyes hardened and his scowl grew a bit. Severus carefully stepped over the pile of rubble that was formed around the base of the doorway.

"I will tell you if the time is right, but not here, not now, and definitely not like this. Did you even consider the fact that I would have been honest with everyone if I could have helped it? Sometimes it is not up to me," Edward mumbled. When Remus stepped through the doorway, Edward clapped his hands and returned the gaping wound he made in the doorway back into a finished fixture. He looked at the two of their down trodden faces and shut the door, blocking them from view. He knew his own face bore the same expression.

…..

Harry ran back from the Defense Against Dark Art's tower all the way to hit room. He nearly sprinted the entire way, but had to stop when Mrs. Norris walked in his way. Harry was kind of relieved that Edward didn't murder his body right then and there in the classroom. It seemed that Lupin and Snape really ticked him off. As soon as he got past the portrait of Major Armstrong, who was still guarding in place of the Fat lady, he nearly jumped on top of Ron in order to wake him up. He clamped a hand over his friend's mouth as to not awaken the other boys in the dorm.

"I need to tell you something," Harry whispered to him.

…..

"Wait, let me get this straight. Edward socked Snape in the stomach just to get his notebook back?" Ron asked him stupidly. "I would have at least thought of a better reason than that!" Hermione, who joined them a while later, slapped him upside the head. He grumbled a bit.

"Obviously, at least from what you heard, that notebook had valuable information in it. Anyway, haven't you ever seen Edward without it?" Hermione asked them and they shook their heads. "He always carries it around with him in that coat of his."

"He said something about the affairs in his country being a threat to his family and friends," Harry mumbled.

"Maybe he is a refugee or a wanted criminal," Ron said.

"That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard," Hermione retorted. "Edward is a State Alchemist. He got his test done in October. He couldn't be a criminal. Something is going down in his country and he just doesn't want us involved with it, foreign affairs policy or something. Harry are you sure there wasn't anything else you heard? Anything at all?" Harry thought for a little bit and then snapped his fingers.

"They kept repeating something about a Homunculus."

…

Edward couldn't even focus on his research anymore. All he could think about was his notes. Everything he ever wrote, ever thought, ever experienced, and ever kept secret, was written out on paper plain as day. Transmutation circles, originally hidden in random doodles or texts were completely shown out in the open. All of the conspiracy theories and murder plots he found in the government were written in perfect grammatical English. He hated the language now. In a matter of seconds, the wizard was able to decode his unbreakable language and translate all of his information as if it was nothing more important than a library book. These people didn't know what they were dealing with, and now the information was up for grabs. Edward slammed the notebook closed and placed his head in his hands. The room was silent as he thought long and hard about the consequences. Maybe if he told them, they might return the book back to normal and he would only risk the information being let out by word of mouth, rather than the whole entire text up front. Then again, they could just decide to read everything in the book and not even try to turn it back, or maybe the spell is irreversible. He pounded his head to think of any and all options he had. If anyone got their hands on his notebook, they wouldn't just know the plans of the country, but everything about the philosophers stone, truth, human transmutation, and every since circle he ever created in his life. Edward glanced over to the Flamel textbook. Would the spell have worked on it?

...

**OKAY! Important scienctific discovery which challenges chemistry and physics as we know it! Scientist have recently experimented on fusion and managed to fuse hydrogen atoms nearly close together with lazers. Whats so important about this? Well, my friends and readers. This challenges the law of Convservation of energy! This system that they created was able to make more energy than they put into it. They are still trying to figure out where the energy came from, but this could change the evolution of science and technology as we know it! Think about creating unlimited amounts of energy! this could stop energy crisis and create a cleaner planet! Or, if taken by the hands of monopolies, be big business in the hands of the holder. There is good and there is bad, but this is AMAZING!**


	22. Undying Truth

**Okay meant to get this up yesterday, but I had internet troubles and it wouldn't load right... but ow it did! yay... okay I thank you all for sticking with me this far, and I hope you stay with me till the end (which I expect oly a few more chapters in this book and then at least fifty for the fourth book) wow big plans okay. I thank you all for the reviews. And I thank the academy (lol)...**

** I just want to warn you spelling mistakes might be because my M N and L keys are jammed and I have to hammer them hard to get them to work right sometimes. it was a little fustrating but I think I got it covered for now. Hope you like the chapter!**

CHAPTER 22

The Undying Truth

Edward couldn't sleep last night. He was too worked up over the confrontation he had with Remus and Severus that he paced about his office until 1:30. When he got to his chambers it didn't get any better. All he could think about was the devastating state his notebook was in. What would happen if someone found it? What would happen if someone read it? Edward trusted the security of the castle, but then again, he didn't. Sirius was able to get past it more than twice in the year so it couldn't be that up to par. He wouldn't dare leave anything precious out let alone his notebook. In order to put his mind at rest, Edward took several of his unused leather belts and tied the notebook shut then alchemically fused them together so that it was nearly impossible to be opened. Unfortunately, with the things he saw magic do, he secretly doubted it would make a difference. After a while of tossing and turning, pacing and worrying, Edward was finally able to go to sleep, but his fears never left him.

He was shaken awake by a firm hand and a panicking voice above him. Edward blinked his eyes a couple times until they adjusted to the bright light of the early afternoon. At first he panicked that he slept in, but he caught sight of the person in his room. Remus stood over him, checking him over with worried golden eyes. Edward was panting really hard and was covered in cold chilling sweat. The red amulet hung down around his chest, making the cool metal freeze his skin. He shivered a bit.

"Edward are you alright?" Remus asked him slowly and quietly as if not to startle him. Edward rubbed his aching temple a bit just to find that his arm and leg were trembling uncontrollably. A sudden pained memory flashed through his mind as the nightmare came back to him in full swing. He pictured Alphonse's suit of armor motionless, Colonel Mustang stabbed and blinded, Hawkeye bleeding to death, Armstrong, Havoc, Winry….. Remus snapped his finger in front of his face a few times to snap him from his trance. "Edward, are you alright?" he repeated. "We were in my office and we heard a scream. What happened?"

Edward grumbled and pushed the man's hand out of his face. In his panic last night, he must have forgotten to take the dreamless draught that Severus and Poppy made for him. He was thinking too much of what might have happened if someone found the notebook. That would never happen though…right? It just felt too real. He sighed, "I am fine, just a nightmare." Remus bent down next to the bed where he was laying and touched his hand to feel it shaking.

"Do you think you can stand?" he asked just as calmly as the last. He placed a hand on his forehead to check for a temperature. Edward wanted to make a snappy retort, but he saw the fear in Remus's eyes. It was strange. Just last night they were at each other's necks, next the man was sitting by his bedside tear jerked and worried about him. Edward pulled his hand away and slowly sat up in his bed.

"Yeah," he mumbled quietly. A pained throb was set through his head as soon as he started to get up. He let out a sigh and flopped back on the bed. Remus smiled at him reminiscently.

"What are you laughing at moonshine?" Edward mumbled tiredly. The man looked a little taken aback by the comment, but Edward didn't push him. He knew that the man didn't want him to know about having the disease, so he didn't tell him he knew. Remus shook off the comment and sat down in the desk chair next to his bed.

"You just remind me of someone I know. He was always overly determined and under concerned about his own wellbeing," he chuckled quietly. "What was it?" he asked after a small pause. Edward raised his eyebrow at him. "What was your nightmare about?"

"It was just a nightmare, it was nothing," Edward mumbled back to him. They sat there in silence for a while, just staring at the ceiling. He heard the man give out a long breath of air.

"I get them too you know," he said. Edward turned his head to meet the golden eyes of the teacher. He didn't see pity. He didn't see nothing either. "Most of mine are of the night I was attacked. See the mind tortures itself. That is what causes nightmares. It takes your memories and fears ad plays them against you. I am always afraid that I will hurt someone, and y nightmares sometimes leave e so afraid ad confused when I wake up I think that they are true." Edward just stared at him for a few seconds as he took a pause in his story.

"It is a hard life being a werewolf, most people want you dead because they think you are a disease, which you are. My mind doesn't even accept the truth of my existence. I sometimes think that this is all just one long dream. But my friends have helped me to come to realize that I am not bound to what I am, but what I think I am. I might be a monster Edward, but I am not a monster. Your fears won't overcome themselves you know Edward," Remus said softly.

Edward stared at him for a few moments after he finished. He couldn't believe that the man openly admitted it to him. The man, the morning after a huge fight openly admitted his secret. Remus sat in the chair looking down at him completely serene. He rested his head on his hands as if too tired to hold it up himself. Edward wasn't sure quite what to do. He looked down at his mismatched hands for a little bit. He knew, yet the silence was deafening.

"It wasn't much of a memory," Edward finally mumbled breaking the insanity of the quiet room. Remus turned to look at him as if he wasn't expecting anything to come out of him. Edward exhaled. "I was just afraid, you know? I don't know what I should do, or what will come next. I can't even teach at a stupid school without it affecting someone. The truth is I can't do anything without there being consequences. Last night, I dreamed Al was…" he choked a bit remembering the torn and mangled armor of his brother. He knew that his brother was tough, but he wasn't silent. Al would always make sure to talk to him at night when they weren't moving around a lot just so that he would know that Al was still there. Edward hated when his brother was silent, it scared him. "I dreamed a lot of stuff about a lot of people that I don't want to happen to them, ever." He finally made out. Remus placed a hand on his shoulder. "If that information got out, my dream might as well be a reality."

"Look, Edward, I am sorry," Remus whispered. "I am sorry for what happened last night and the past few weeks. We were all just scared. There were several rumors and ancient stories about Homunculi, none of them good. When you told us about them really existing, we didn't know what to think. We were all scared. Severus and I wanted you to tell us what was really going on because we didn't want to be left out. We wanted to make sure we knew what we were up against. Hogwarts is in danger, and so is the wizarding world. If that information fell into the hands of the Dark lord, we wouldn't know what to do. I wanted to help you, not scare you. For that I am sorry."

They sat there a while just in silence. It was a while before Edward stood up and walked to the head of the bed. He clapped his hands and transmuted a square section of the mattress. He reached his hand into the new compartment and pulled out his completely bound notebook. Remus was a little shocked by the precautions he took, but then again muggle security wasn't as light weight as magic was. "Can you undo this? The spell that Severus put on it in order to read it. If it isn't coded, it isn't safe, not even like this."

"Yes, but-"

"If you turn it back to normal and if you tell me what really is going on with you and your friend, I will tell you everything I know about my country," Edward said. Remus took a while to register what he said, and it hit him hard. Edward knew he was in league with Black. All he had to do was put two and two together.

"How did you know about-"

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. It isn't hard to figure out. No one told you it was a map. Sirius is a dog right? I saw him several times walking around the grounds with a cat. Also, when you meet him in person, it isn't hard to tell who his friends are," Edward said. Remus looked at him conflicted for a moment, but let out a low chuckle.

"You got one smart head on your shoulders Edward Elric," Remus chuckled. He whipped out his wand and pointed it to the notebook. "Finite," he said and a flash of white hovered around the bound book then disappeared after a while. Edward glanced curiously at the man for a little bit and then undid the bindings. The book was completely back to normal and coded. He could have hugged him, but then seeing as he was the one who put it in that state to begin with Edward restrained himself. Lupin looked about the room a little bit and then at his watch. It was getting late. "I will like to meet up with you later about the second half, but here and now is not the time. I have classes to teach and so do you if you didn't forget them yet," he laughed. Edward looked at his own pocket watch and nearly jumped out of his skin. It was nearly noon. He slept through half of his classes. He scrambled around his room tossing his fresh clothes on his mangled bed. Remus left him to his own day.

…..

Edward sprinted to his classes with his shirt halfway on and his jacket tossed about his shoulders. He didn't have to worry about the notebook anymore since it was coded once more, but he still kept it in his coat pocket for safe keeping. When he barged into his classroom, the fifth year class was bouncing off the walls, literally. The Weasley twins were mischievously passing out some sort of candy, which Edward guessed was what made his students able to levitate.

"Fred drop the candy, George, put everyone back to normal," Edward commanded them as he walked to the front of the room.

"Umm, Professor, aren't you forgetting something?" Fred asked him as he put the candy away in his backpack. Edward looked at his students who were trying to tether themselves down to their chairs so they won't go floating off again. George and a couple other people were snickering a bit at him and pointing to his feet. Edward looked down to realize that he forgot to put his shoes on or even his gloves. His automail toes were sticking out from underneath his baggy pants while his right hand was bare and shining in the afternoon sun. He started cursing a bit to himself as the students burst out laughing. Fred and George walked up to his desk where he was muttering while searching in the bottom drawer of his desk for an extra pair of gloves he usually kept there.

"Those are some nice feet you have there," George chided. Edward smacked his head off of the desk at how close the voices were. He looked up to see the two twins leaning over his desk to look at his foot. He rubbed his sore head and tried to push their faces away but they caught hold of his automail arm and started to inspect the fingers.

"Whoa! These are really cool! What are they made from?" Fred asked giving Edward's metal fingers a good shake. He pulled his hand away from the two obsessing teenagers.

"Get back to your desks, I have a class to teach," Edward mumbled but the two of them made themselves comfortable at his own desk. Fred sat on the corner giving Scops a good pet while George tried to get a better look at his feet.

"Is it true that you really don't have an arm?" they questioned him. Edward didn't know what exactly the ministry told everybody about his automail, but he didn't think that the wizards would have been this oblivious to it. They didn't fully understand it, nor knew.

"Go sit down," he said again deciding not to tell them. They just stood there however, rather defiantly with smirks on their faces. Edward eyed them a bit seeing if his glare would scare them back to their seats, but they were unmoved. "What do you want?" he groaned.

"Can we please see it?" they begged together. The entire class started to get excited with them. This was probably the millionth class that wanted to see his metal. It was getting so annoying and he was in no mood to deal with their shenanigans.

"No," he scolded them. "I said no a hundred times before and I will say it a hundred times over. No." The class moaned. Edward shoved his extra pair of gloves on his hands and folded his arms I defiance.

"Ah, but Professor," George started, "You don't get it."

"We will keep asking a million times over."

"So in actuality, it would be more beneficial to you if you told us now,"

"To avoid all of the other no's later." Edward glared at the two of them. Their unwavering smiles stared back at him tauntingly. He smirked at them.

"You have a point, but it is still a no," Edward said. "You just don't go asking people to show their arms to everyone." Fred and George pulled back their sleeves and showed Edward their bare arms, their grins grew Cheshire wide. Edward pretended to inspect their arms a little mockingly.

"Very impressive," he said sarcastically, "But they are still weak." Edward pulled back the sleeve of his left arm and showed it to them. Some of the girls swooned, but he ignored them completely. "This is a real arm." The twins looked shocked and the rest of the class gathered around to see. George was brave enough to attempt to poke his muscled arm but Edward swatted his hand away and rolled his sleeve back down. "I am not going to show just anyone my automail. I need a reason for it. If you give me a legit and compact reason, I might just consider showing you."

The class let out moans and shuffled back to their seats. The twins stayed however. Edward staggered back to his desk chair and plopped down in it, the Weasleys still staring over his shoulder.

"Professor, what shoe size are you?" Fred said. Edward glanced down at his feet which he nearly forgot were bare.

"Ten," he moaned. The two twins bent down and untied their own shoes, Fred his right and George his left. They placed the black dress shoes on his desk. Edward picked them up and eyed them. "What?" he said plainly. The twins rolled their eyes at him.

"Well, we don't want you to show your lovely feet off to just anyone you know," George smiled.

"It is an exchange after all," Fred added. "It just so happens that we have the same shoe size."

"But what about your feet?" Edward asked them. The two of them placed a hand on either one of his shoulders and shook him a bit.

"Professor you are forgetting."

"We are wizards."

"Duplication is second nature to us," Fred laughed. "Anyway, I always liked George's right shoe better."

"And I his left." Edward smiled at them and thanked them for their shoes as they headed back towards their desk. He slipped on the black loafers and brought his class to attention. Yes, this exchange will be pretty fun.

….

Edward sat at the student tables for a late lunch that afternoon after a short exercise round with the Whomping Willow. Everyone already cleared out of the hall since they finished eating and were heading to their classes. Edward had his books propped open along with a large plate of sandwiches beside him. He took a bite of his sandwich and opened his notebook with a fresh quill.

_Van Hoenheim seemed to take to me and we started research together in the late July of the following year. He taught me a lot on his likes of alchemy and about the creation of the philosopher's stone. I was frightened to say the least, about the true nature of my search. I was about to give up, one life forever was not worth the life of another. I argued with him in several heated debates but he wouldn't seem to move. Now let me tell you, the reasons for why he wanted to research farther into this dastardly art are for his own but he told me that the research that he was performing was solely for the purposes of destroying one. I agreed to help._

_We researched for several years but with little success. I kept my magic from him all this time, seeing as science seemed to be the only way to study and create this legendary object. We researched chemistry, physiology, anatomy, and every single field available but no such luck. It was a last resort with my coming age of fifty that I showed him the art of wizardry. I was running out of time to finish my research. Van was a bit confused by my being, but he gradually caught on with the subject. Within a few years, we started to combine the arts. It proved to be disasterous at first attempts. Ended up causing the tragic fire of Brownington and several other major events luckily with no casualties, but we continued. My friend Albus Dumbledore soon found out what we were up to after the seventh fire ad he helped keep Van's knowledge of magic a secret from the ministry. Within my fifty eighth birthday, I came ill and was bedridden for several months at a time. However, my trusted and loyal friends carried on my research without me. They started to conduct more meaningful experiments with me taking occasional notes and theories. It was on my sixtieth birthday that we attempted to take the serum. I was sick and Van feared for the worst. He gave me a cup along with Albus. It tasted like cherries along with an iron base but the effects were immediate. My health was instantly restored to me. We did it. Albus and I were so relieved that our quest was finally coming to an end, but Van just seemed to wander blankly about as our research continued. We each had our own separate notes about the creation of this object as we tried to theorize how we did it without the power of another's soul. Hoenheim seemed to be turning his research more towards the opposite effects of the stone, aging._

_We kept the sorcerer's stone a secret. However, our ageless faces were of course recognized easily. The crowds of rampant people and assassins grew so much that even the immense amount of wards that we set around our house wouldn't keep the villagers at bay. It was at high time that we searched for a secure place for the stone so that no one would be able to get it. In fear of our safety, we placed the stone into my own Gringotts account. Within fifty years in hiding, the stone fell into legend once more and we were safe to carry about our lives the way we wanted to. I went about the town and met a young woman of the name Perenelle. She was beautiful and…_

"Yada yada yada," Edward hummed to himself as he flipped through the love life of Nicolas Flamel. "Married, two children…Ah here we go."

_One morning of the late 1800's we simply woke up to find that Van Hoenheim was gone. He left his notes, he left everything he had. Van Hoenheim simply disappeared. I was afraid that he was taken by some raving treasure hunters after the stone, but a skilled alchemist like he is it seemed unlikely. I assumed he went back to his own country. As the years went by, I got more and more curious to where he went. I tried to read his notes incase they had a clue as to where my friend could have been taken but they were so well coded my attempts were all a failure. I even tried to charm it to reveal itself, but that didn't even work. He must have had Albus put a charm on it. I would have asked the wizard for it, but I was too ashamed for trying to read Hoenheim's private work. It wasn't until several decades later and well into our silver years that Van returned to us once more. He brought good tidings of his life with success in meeting a fine young woman by the name of Trisha Elric. I also heard of a couple young boys, but the names seem to have slipped my mind in my old age. I tried to convince him to go back and marry her that instant but he seemed to be in utter distress. He kept rambling on about his lost research. It wasn't until the fifth night of his stay that he truly revealed to me the meaning behind his research._

_Van Hoenheim was-_

"Edward Elric," a stiff voice announced behind him. Edward slammed his book shut and spun around in his seat nearly falling off of it at one point. He glanced up to see the stern and grimacing face of Madam Hooch standing behind him. He gulped. He knew what was coming. "I am so glad to have caught you I need to inform you that you will-"

"Be a referee for the quidditch finals, am I correct?" he moaned. The trainer gave a shrill laugh and patted his back roughly. He groaned and let his head fall to the table. "What is the reason this time?"

"This match is Gryffindor against Slytherin as you know and with them being rival houses I am going to need a few extra set of eyes on the field to watch for any foul play. You think you are up for it?" she said in her tough luck voice. Edward eyed her for a little bit but she was unwavering. He sighed.

"I guess I have no choice," he mumbled. "When do I have to be on the field?"

"Eight o' clock sharp," she hummed happily. "I would miss breakfast if I were you. It never settles well with flying." She walked off happily out of the great hall. Edward grumbled to himself and pulled out his pocket watch. It was nearly one, time for his next class.

…

Edward didn't have time to talk to Remus the entire day. He was filled the rest of the lessons with classes, detention, and his own paper work to up keep. House elves brought him a tray of hot sandwiches and pumpkin juice for him that evening as he was walking back from his office to his chambers. He saw that several of the paintings were already asleep in their portraits for the night, even Roy and Havoc were starting to give out. Fuery and Breda were already gone, using each other as pillows. Edward recited the password to Alphonse since he was always awake and he opened the door. He clambered into his bathroom and took a long shower in the hot almost burning water. It was a long day, longer than he would have wanted it to be. His deal with Lupin was still in the air and so was his deal with his automail. None of his students were able to give him a viable answer as to why he should show them. Some of them had pretty good reasons, but Edward said no just because he thought that they were making it up. He actually used the deal as a way to get out of showing his automail but the Weasley twins were really excited for it. They attempted several times to get him to show it, but he still denied them.

Edward slowly got into his pajamas and set down for his bed. He took his draught after remembering what happened that morning and settled down. The notes kept running themselves over in his mind. They were all of Flamel's memoirs about his father. He really did create a Sorcerer's stone, but what was different about it? The actual research notes didn't seem to be contained in the text. Why would he publish it ad code it if it was just his memoirs? Edward really wanted to see his father again, not to be friendly to him but to make him answer a few of the questions he had buzzing around in his head. He gave out a tired sigh and blew out the candle on his desk. He was going to have a long day tomorrow.


	23. Pet Peeves

**UGGH! Okay the uploading copy and paste doesn't seem to be working right for some reason. I wanted to post this chapter earlier (like five minutes ago) but it doesn't seem to be working right. Now I had to file down load….. so much work!**

**Okay here is my next chapter, it is a bit funnier than the rest but I hope you like it. If you have any tips about male bonding time or like how dudes hang out or something give me tips cause I really don't know. All my friends do is sit around laugh at tumblr and play video games. Thankyou all for reviewing and reading!**

CHAPTER 23

Pet Peeves

Severus made his way from the Great Hall towards the Quidditch field. Several kids were screaming and hollering as they raced down and out of the castle with their bets all made for what team would win. He rolled his eyes at the annoying things and continued on his way in his own green and silver robes. Against popular belief, he did enjoy a good game of quidditch every now and then. As he passed the entrance to the Dungeon's corridor he heard a scuffling and a holler.

"YOU TWO MEATHEADS! COMPLETELY UTTERLY STUPID MORONS! GET ME DOWN FROM HERE AND I WILL GIVE YOU MORE THAN YOU BARGAINED FOR!" Ed's horrifying cries came. Severus muted out the rest of the scolding as he made his way down the side corridor towards the commotion. He could only guess what the young teacher got himself into yet again. As he turned the bend of the passage, he saw Edward dangling upside down in the air by one of his ankles flailing about as if trying to punch some invisible force, his obnoxious red coat falling over his head. His cries didn't cease however. The stone wall was jutted out of the in the form of a large land which pinned two struggling Slytherins to the opposite wall. Marcus Flint and his friend were whimpering from the fright of being attacked by a giant fist but mostly from the downgrading and completely inappropriate language their teacher was using. Severus walked all the way over where the teacher was hanging and cleared his throat. Edward stopped his ranting and looked over at him I surprise.

"Explain yourselves," Severus groaned. The whimpering Slytherins quieted down.

"These two idiots thought it was funny to hang me upside down in the hallway so I couldn't referee for the game!" Edward seethed and jabbed his finger accusingly across the hall at the two squirming students. He tried twisting out of his invisible binds, but it was not use.

"He's lying!" Marcus retorted. "He attacked us I the hallway! We fired back in defense!"

"Why the hell would I do that you kumquat!" Edward snapped. They fired insults at each other until Severus shot some sparks into the air. The feud instantly stopped. The Potions master let out a sigh.

"Students should never attack a teacher," he scolded his house. "First of all, it is against school rules. Second of all, right before a meet to a referee, you just might as well lost the cup. A biased referee is not one you want." He heard Edward let out a little snicker at the two pinned students. He sent a death glare at him, one that he mastered over his years of teaching. "Attacking a student doesn't put you well off either. It is against our policy to use physical discipline against students. You seem to have a habit of this don't you? Hanging up those Ravenclaw students earlier in the year and now this, I don't think that you are off to a well start."

"Hey! They were the one who fired first!" Edward retorted.

"I don't care who fired first!" Snape snapped. He flicked his wand and Edward fell face flat to the floor and the ground receded back to its normal form dropping the slytherins to their knees. "Get to the field without any more foolery or else I will suit you three with kitchen duty with the houselves! Marcus, get your quidditch robes on, Edward learn how to fly! I expect to see you all at the game." He rushed down the hallway leaving the annoying but confused teenagers I his wake. His day just turned for the worse.

Severus grumbled down the corridor and resumed his walk to the pitch. The sun was just peeking over the horizon and the weather was perfect for the occasion. He would have grinned back at it if he wanted to. As Severus walked towards the screaming and hollering stadium, he heard a pair of footsteps behind him.

"Hey Severus wait up!" Edward called out behind him. He turned to see the small halfpint staggering over himself to catch up with him. A pair of loafers were tied together by the laces and slung over his shoulder. Severus could tell that they weren't his shoes, since he was wearing a pair of his tacky work boots. Edward panted when he finally caught up to him. "What do you want?" Severus sighed.

"I want to thank you for getting me down," Edward said but Severus just rolled his eyes at him.

"It was your fault after all, but that wasn't the reason why you chased me down is it?" he moaned.

"Man you really get down to the point do you?" Edward chuckled. Severus glared at him and he immediately shut up. "Well," Edward started again, "I wanted to ask you if you had any idea of how I could get out of those magical situations."

"What on earth do you mean Elric," he mumbled.

"W-well, I realized that after you turned my notes into a jumbled mess and after being jinxed twice this year by a couple students, that I have no way of defending myself or reversing any of this. I-I always had to get someone to help me." Severus looked down at the alchemist but Edward seemed to be preoccupied with something on the ground. "I know we haven't been on the same ground or anything for a while now but I was just wondering if you could help me-"

"No." Edward looked up a little startled at the teacher. "I don't have anything to help you in that way," he added. The boy turned his head back to the ground and they walked in silence to the pitch. Just as they were about to part ways, Severus placed a hand on Edward's shoulder. "However, don't be afraid to come get me if anything happens again. It is unfortunate what happened to you little journal, I am glad you got it fixed."

"I AM NOT LITTLE!" Edward shouted at him, but Severus was already climbing the stairs. It wasn't much of an apology, but it was what the potion's master was able to give. Edward turned towards where the locker rooms were. He hoped no one was had the guts to jinx him again.

…

Edward and Madam Hooch sat on broomsticks along with the rest of the players in the middle of the field. He had a bad feeling with the looks that the two teams were giving each other. Marcus Flint was there as joyous as ever. Draco shifted uneasily on his broom and looked nervously over at him.

"Alright you lot," Madam Hooch yelled at them. "I want no ruff housing here. The instant I or Mr. Elric here sees any trouble, we are calling it and dealing penalties no ifs ands or buts." Edward heard a few moans from not just the Slytherins but the Gryffindors as well. The Weasley twins looked especially downtrodden. "On my whistle."

As the whistle blew, the teams shot off red in one direction, green in another, and a mash of both in between. Edward steered his broom up a few feet in order to get a better view of the scene. It was brutal. Several elbows were flying and he even thought to have seen someone bite another chaser. However, the group quickly split up as soon as the beaters started doing their thing. Both Bludgers were sent into the group which dispersed in order to save a few heads, Gryffindor with the quaffle. They raced towards the opposite pitch and shot for a goal, but the keeper beat it back. Edward followed the quaffle while Madam Hooch kept an eye on the seekers and beaters to make sure they weren't doing anything stupid. As the game progressed, Edward had to call several penalties on both Slytherin and Gryffindor for intent on injuring the other team. However the bloody noses were cleaned up with a whisk of a wand. Edward caught sight of Marcus Flint attempting to throw off Angelina by grabbing onto the tail of her broomstick. He sounded the whistle and the play stopped.

"Marcus, I am glad to see that you aren't sexist, but keep your hands on your own broom," Edward growled as he flew over to the lot of chasers. He grabbed the quaffle from them and handed it back to the Gryffindor chaser to be started up again. Just as he sounded the whistle to start again, a bludger whizzed past him only a couple centimeters from his broom. The wave of the ball sent him upside down on his broom. Edward grumpily righted himself and searched the sky for where it came from. He heard a THWACK and turned his head. The bludger was hurling back towards him from the stick of a Slytherin beater. He quickly ducked out of the way and watched the ball head back towards Katie Bell who was in possession of the quaffle.

"HEY WATCH IT!" he scolded at them. The boy shrugged and zoomed off. Edward caught back up to the Chasers and followed them back over towards the Slytherin goal post staying on the outer edge of the play. Just as Katie was about to dunk the ball, the bludger which missed her by mere inches soared right towards the stands and the crowds of people. Several of the students tried to avoid it but some were tripping over themselves. Edward sped over to the path of the wild ball and quickly blocked it from hitting Neville's face with his arm. He caught it and threw it back onto the field. It wasn't long however until Edward heard another thwap and saw the bludger sent back towards him just barely missing Alicia. He didn't have any time to dodge it so he blocked it again with his automail. The force nearly knocked him off of his broom but luckily he still had hold of it with his legs. He was just merely sent upside down again. Edward knew that his automail was dented, but luckily not damaged. He heard the beating sound again and saw the ball whizz back towards him. He couldn't dodge it being upside down so he held his arm up for another blow. Right as it was about to impact however, he heard another beat right next to him and saw George hit the ball down towards where one of the Slytherin chasers were.

"Oi professor, you might want to watch yourself! The bludgeon doesn't care whose in its path," George hollered to him as he sped away.

"Neither do the Beaters," Fred added as he whipped by him. Edward grumbled to himself and followed back towards where the chasers were carrying on. He always seemed to be directly in the way of the beaters when they were hitting them at the chasers. Edward decided to fly above the crowd from now on and look down at the show. Warrington, the slytherin chaser just scored ten points for their team. They play continued Gryffindor still in the lead of the Slytherins. Edward flew about being careful of the beaters.

Just as Alicia was about to make another goal, Edward heard it one last time. He quickly looked around and dodged the bludger headed towards him by flying down out of the way, however he was impacted in the chest by another one coming from below. Edward lost grip on his broomstick and it fell down to the ground, but he was still rising. He looked at the bludger and noticed that he must have caught it as it hit his chest and was still holding onto it as it flew about. He let out a scream as the ball quickly changed dirrections. Some of the players stopped to stare at the referee who was being whipped about by a lose bludger, but the play still continued. Edward was zooming through the field at a lightning pace holding on to the ball as tight as he could while it tried to knock him off like a bucking bronco. None of the players dared near him to help him since it was a live bludger and would no doubted attack them. George and Peregrine the Slytherin beater were following him carefully as to try and find a safe point of rescue. All of a sudden, the bludger took a turn towards George.

"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" Edward screamed as George didn't seem to be able to move in time. Just before they collided, Peregrine flew down and hit the ball with deadly accuracy barely missing Edward's arms which were strangling the ball for dear life. The Bludger was sent straight towards the ground at a speed that Edward really did not want to be at. He saw George and Peregrine race after him as Fred and Lucian were battling the other bludger which seemed to want to join his buddy in the fun. George swept below him, his feet just brushing the grass, and hit the ball to the left. Edward was being dragged horizontally to the ground only a few inches from it.

"ELRIC LET GO!" the Gryffindor and Slytherin beaters said together. Edward dropped the bludger and fell the few inches to the ground where he tumbled and turned up dirt as his body came to a stop. It hurt, but not as bad as it would have. Several gasps were let out of the crowd as they watched Edward collide with the ground. He coughed a bit and spat out a few chunks of dirt. That was the second time he got brutally mauled at a quidditch game. He heard several cheers ring up just as fast as they fell silent. He looked up and saw a red and green blur swerving at great speeds towards him. Something heavy tackled him down by the shoulders and Edward's face was sent back in the dirt. Horns blew signaling the end of the game and the crowds cheers were deafening.

"Sorry Edward," Harry mumbled at him. Edward looked up to see the young boy holding the golden walnut in his hands. He grumbled to himself and pushed the kid off of him. The Gryffindor team surrounded them in a sea of scarlet and were chanting of their victory. Edward tried to escape the over bearing crowd, but they were too strong for his winded body to fight. The Weasely Twins came around and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Professor! That was amazing!" George yelled.

"You rode that bludger better than you ride a broom!" Fred joked. "However, I wouldn't recommend doing it again."

"Without me and Peregrine, you would have been looking like a crushed Wizard chess piece right about now."

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have those bludgers flying towards my head in the first place," Edward mumbled underneath his breath however the twins didn't hear him.

"Thank you for breaking Harry's fall yet again!" Oliver wood said ripping the twins off of him. Edward grumbled something about Potter being the death of him. Confetti and sparklers of red and gold shot out above the crowd and everyone cheered. But as fast as the crowd of players and came, they all left for the locker rooms with the golden Quidditch cup, or in Slytherin's case without it. Poppy and Madam Hooch managed to free Edward of the Gryffindors' grasp and drag him back to the faculty's separate locker rooms.

His shirt was in a ruin, which was to say the least. Other than being completely covered in ground up dirt and grass, the sleeves of his jacket were completely torn up to shreds. Edward was amazed that no one caught a glimpse of his perfectly exposed automail in all of the chaos of the field. It was no use mending the jacket since half of it was probably scattered about the dirt or half buried in the dust of the pitch. He let Poppy fix up the huge circular bruise that the bludger left on his chest from the impact as well as the several cuts and scrapes he got from his landing. He was amazed that he got out of that game without any broken limbs. He silently thanked spring for making the grounds unusually soft.

"There," Poppy said taking the last chunk of dirt out of his metal shoulder. "Good as new." Edward looked down at his chest to see that it was perfectly fixed and cleaned up. His automail arm plate however was still dented and covered in dust. He clapped his hands and bent the metal back into place making sure to avoid tampering with the wires.

"Now good as new," he smiled. Poppy let out a little chuckle.

"These Quidditch games never seem to give you a break do they? I thought with you being in the military and all a simple game of sports might be easy for you," Madam Hooch said to him.

"Simple? There are balls flying everywhere!" Edward replied drastically waving his arms. Hooch rolled her eyes. Wizards had a knack for downplaying complexity. Edward let out a sigh of defeat and walked over to where his coat and things were stored. He tossed his ripped up jacket in the dustbin and slipped his coat on over his bare arms. "I was never one for sports, just sparring with my brother. That was the closest thing that we got."

"Well it seems that you have a long way to go in learning about modern culture," Hooch said roughly with a playful grin.

"Hey! I know sports, I just don't play them…. Or watch them… or really find them interesting….." Edward said gradually listing off all of the ways that he and sports didn't connect. It was a very long list. As he realized he was rambling he shook his head. "Not everyone has to like sports. You wizards are crazy for them!"

"Touché," Hooch threw back at him. Edward unclipped his pocket watch and looked at the time. It was nearly lunch and he was starving.

"Well, see you around," he said waving them goodbye.

"Hell you will! With that flying I expect you to show up for more lessons, you hear me!" Edward heard Hooch shout at him as he slowly closed the door to the locker room. He had Fred and George's shoes draped by the laces around his neck. He still needed to return them since he wasn't using them anymore. He did take the liberty of repairing the worn down leather and laces with alchemy since it was obvious that they were in need of fixing, or just a new pair of shoes in general. Several of the quidditch players were heading out of the Quidditch tower or just talking in the hallway. A few of them gave him awkward looks as to why he wasn't wearing a shirt underneath his red jacket, but he dismissed them. As he passed the Gryffindor changing rooms he heard chants and hollers coming from it. The door flung open and the Weasley twins came walking out together. They paused for a moment as they caught sight of Edward.

"Hey Professor! Where did your shirt go?" Fred asked him stupidly. Edward mumbled a few things under his breath, but handed the shoes back to the boys.

"Thanks for the shoes," Edward said to them.

"No problem Teacher! Wow, they look nearly brand new! You really know how to shine them up!" George said. Edward smiled and gave out a tired yawn. Being chased by bludgers and tackled by people on broomsticks wears a person out more than they think. The twins gave each other evil smirks. Edward was about to walk off, but the twins hooked him by the arms and dragged him back into their locker rooms. The entire team including Ron and Hermione were standing there marveling at the golden cup and sharing a round of Pumpkin juice that Edward guessed the house elves brought around.

"Hey everybody!" George announced, "Look! We caught the Professor!" Several cheers went up from the boys as well as a few whistles. The three girl team members turned a bit red in the face just like Edward was doing that moment.

"Come on Professor, have a cup of pumpkin juice!" Oliver shouted and tossed him a mug. Edward caught it clumsily and half of the contents spilt out. Some of the team slapped him on the back. "How did you do it? Ride the bludger like that?" Oliver laughed.

"Where did your shirt go?" Harry asked him. Edward shot him a glare.

"That was some catch you made deflecting the ball like that! Saved Neville's face," Angelina said.

"He would make one bloody beater if you ask me," Oliver said. "Do you want to join the team?"

"Hey!" the twins complained.

Several questions were whipped by him at once Edward didn't know what to do. All he wanted was to return the shoes not get pummeled to the ground with one way conversation. Edward sat down on the corner bench and tried to sort out the words they were throwing at him.

"Quiet everybody!" McGonagall shouted. All of the kids hushed their voices and looked over at their head of house. She walked in, her eyes puffy after what Edward guessed to be gallons of tears in the joy of victory. "Too many questions at once, give Mr. Elric some air," she commanded them. Edward let out a relieved breath and sank down on the bench he was sitting on. Minerva joined him and they watched the red coated jocks drink Pumpkin juice and have a party. Edward was sure that the same thing was going to happen later that night in the dormitories.

"Edward, are you sure that your arm is alright? It took a beating. Sometimes the students don't realize that the referees are there as well when they are beating their blugeons about," she lightly chuckled.

"Yeah, Poppy helped me clean up in the locker rooms, but I am going to have to clean it out a bit more to night. Got some dirt jammed in the plates," Edward mumbled a bit.

"Severus told me that you were having some trouble with magic, especially lately. There isn't anything that I can do about your predicament except tell you to come to anyone of the teachers if it happens again," Minerva said quietly.

"I guess I am more afraid of the bludgers now than a fairy spell," Edward joked. The Transfigurations teacher smiled and patted him on the knee. She stood up and picked up the quidditch cup much to the students' dismay and walked over to the door.

"Oh Edward, I just wanted to warn you that Peeves is running rampant again. Bloody Baron can't find him, just a heads up," she said before she left to take the quidditch cup to the trophy room. "Edward, what happened to your shirt?"

…..

Edward entered the Great Hall for lunch. It seemed like the entire population of the school was crowded around the far end of the Gryffindor table. Cheers were still coming from them like the match ended just five minutes ago. Everybody but a couple of the Slytherin players were celebrating the victory. Malfoy was glooming about by himself at his table poking at a piece of Pumpkin Pastry. Edward felt bad for the kid for not catching the snitch, but it wasn't fully his fault. Supposedly the broomstick Harry was using was a lot faster and stronger than everyone else's. It was also nice to see Gryffindor come back from such a wrecking defeat against Hufflepuff earlier that year. Edward sighed and plopped down in a seat opposite from him. The teachers who were normally at the High table were crowded around the Gryffindors as well, and Edward really didn't feel like being pulled back into the crowd. Malfoy looked at him questionably as he piled a couple sandwiches on his plate.

"What are you doing here?" Draco mumbled gloomily still poking at his pastry.

"Not being suffocated by crazy fans that's what," Edward retorted motioning towards the loud and obnoxious table. He took a bite of his sandwich. "What are you doing here?" Draco looked up at him curiously but Edward didn't elaborate.

"Minding my own business," he mumbled.

"Hm," Edward said as he pulled out a muggle sciences textbook to read. He flipped through a couple of pages and took a sip of his juice. "Did you know that in science opposites attract?" he grumbled.

"I don't want to learn about you stupid science," the boy grunted. Edward shrugged and took another bite of his sandwich.

"I don't know, it could just be the sleep deprived part of me talking, but instead of competing against everyone, you should try joining them in something. Practice quidditch together, ask for help on homework or something. Gryffindor and Slytherins aren't all enemies. It might not sound logical, but it might just help you get your goals accomplished," Edward said. "I did it on several occasions." Draco glared at him. It wasn't cold or anything though, just annoyed.

"What are you going to go into all of those old people conversations 'Back in my day'" the kid mocked him. Edward chuckled a bit.

"I'm just saying, partnering with people I was fighting before saved my life numerous of times. I might not have liked it at the moment, but it worked." The chattering table quieted down a bit and the Gryffindors seemed to depart from their long victory feast. Draco was still poking at his food. Edward eyed him for a second and then went back to reading his text book. "I heard from the Weasleys what you said to them in the Library when I was taken to my hearing."

There was a long silence from the stubborn Slytherin. "You didn't just walk all the way from the dungeons to the Library just to taunt them about their wealth did you?" Edward continued. "You specifically told them where my owl was."

"So what if I did?" Draco snapped back at him. He pushed his plate of food aside and glared nastily back at Edward. "What could I have gained from it? It could have just been a slip of the tounge!"

"Well," Edward chuckled, "I don't see what you would have gained if you would have just taunted them without my owl."

"Crazy muggle," Draco mumbled to him. He stood and picked his things off the table. Draco took a double take of Edward before he left. "What happened to your shirt?" Edward growled and the boy continued out on his way.

….

Edward finished his day up in the Library creating a perfect Final exam test for his students. Pince kicked him out when he started to tear a couple of books off of the shelves to find research references for them. He got another _Quidditch Through the Ages_ chucked at his head as well as a couple history books. Edward scurried out of the Library and started the walk back to his room. He noticed that the Quidditch Cup was shined and placed in the center of the huge Gryffindor case. The last time that Gryffindor won a quidditch cup was in 1986. Edward deemed that Gryffindor was long overdue for a victory.

As Edward approached his chambers, he heard crashes and tiny explosions coming from the other side of his portrait. Mustang, Hawkeye and Havoc had their backs turned to him and were scolding at the invisible person behind the door while the rest of the people in the portrait covered their ears with a corresponding clatter that came from inside. Fuery looked like he really didn't want Edward to enter, but he did. His room laid a torrent of rubble. The four poster bed was smashed and splintered as if an elephant sat on it and huge chunks in his walls were missing. The bathroom was overflowing with water and pipes stuck out everywhere. Several paintings were knocked off of the walls and his notes as well as chalk stores and drawers were overturned and scattered. Edward heard a cackling in the corner and turned to see Peeves tearing out pages of his notebook and tossing them about the waterlogged floor. He was dancing about through the air chanting and singing a little tune completely off key as he tore apart his room.

_Breaking beakers snapping chalk_

_Doors this muggle needs to lock_

_His rooms a wreak, all in a pit_

_Scientist, Alchemist, its nothing but-_

"PEEVES!" Edward screamed. The poltergeist laughed at the sight of the tiny raging alchemist and tossed the trashed notebook at his head. He spun around the room in circles taunting him. Edward jumped and leaped across several dressers to try and to tackle him, but just as he was about to grab the little devil, Peeves would vanish with a pop and reappear across the room. "PEEVES GET BACK HERE YOU SHRIVELED UP GNOME!" Edward shouted.

"Oh! The bean, it speaks!" Peeves laughed at him. Edward saw some of his chalk board erasers float through the gradually growing puddle of water. He snatched them up and started to chuck them at the floating man.

"DON'T CALL ME SMALL YOU BASTARD!" Edward raged. Peeves ducked and dodged the erasers. Once Edward ran out of ammunition however, he started on chucking planks of wood from the heap that was once his bed. "GET OUT OF HERE!" he shouted.

"What on earth is going on in here?" a voice cried. The Bloody Baron floated through the floor of his room and his ghostly presence nearly made the water on the floors freeze. His entrance startled Peeves long enough for Edward to nail him with a chunk of wood. The poltergeist gripped his hurt head and cursed a bit.

"That bastard trashed my room and tore up my research notes!" Edward seethed as he attempted to pick up another piece of wood to chuck at the poltergeist. The Bloody Baron however, stepped in front of him. Even though he was a ghost and Edward could just toss the plank right through him, he stopped. The faculty was always telling him that the Bloody Baron could keep the poltergeist under control.

"Peeves, get out. I don't want you to mess in his room ever again," the ghost wailed. Peeves turned even whiter than he already was and without a word dashed out of the portrait hole. Edward, after making sure he left, started to chase down his scattered things in his room. He ran about picking up loose papers from his old notebooks and picked up several of the paintings off of the ground. He was glad that his personal notebook and journal were still in his coat and not trashed by the bouncing figure, but his room was still a mess.

"Peeves usually behaves himself, but I just couldn't find him. Unfortunately a muggle like you is easy prey for him and his antics. I can see that he even took your shirt. That blasted poltergeist, if I could get my hands on him, I would kill him all over again. "

"Mr. Baron, I thank you for your help, please just go get someone to physically help me!" Edward scolded him. The Bloody Baron looked him over once, nodded and zoomed out of his room to find the teachers. Edward raced out of his Portrait hole with several of his portraits and leaned them against the opposite wall. Luckily only the frames were water damaged. He raced in and out of his room carrying several arm loads of papers, books (especially the library books), and pictures as the water in his room gradually grew from a puddle to a pond. Severus and McGonagal were the first ones to arrive at the scene. Snape helped Edward haul some of his things out of the room while Minerva tried to dry out everything. When Albus finally made his way over to the chaos, Edward dumped the work items out of his duffle bag and filled it with his soaking wet clothes.

"What is going on-"

"Peeves ransacked my room!" Edward growled as he rushed back into his flooding chambers for another handful of things. He picked up his automail maintenance kit that Winry gave him. Severus inspected the pipes in the walls as well as the other damage Peeves caused.

"The pipes are broken inside the walls as well as underneath the sink. All of his furniture was smashed as well," Severus reported to Albus. "He won't be able to stay in it tonight, maybe not for a few until the water damaged is cleaned." Edward was about to run back into his room, but Severus snagged him by the collar of his coat.

"Edward," Albus said to him, "follow Minevra. She will take you to the dormitories to stay until your room is fixed."

"But-"

"'Dear Edward, what happened to your shirt?"

….

Edward walked into the Gryffindor common room with his duffle of soaking wet belongings. Armstrong was flexing in the portrait like usual and Edward could see the sparkles in his eyes start to swell as the painting looked at his drenched figure. He quickly recited the password before the imitation of the Strong Arm alchemist could start his usual rampages. Like he predicted, the party for the quidditch cup was still going on in the dormitories. A stream of teenagers flooded the common room as several of them bounced off of their sofas and chairs hooting and hollering. Edward slightly wished that he could have slept on the floor of his office instead of with the students. As he entered the room, the cries of the teenagers started to dwindle and die as they caught sight of the water logged professor.

"Now everyone, listen up," Minerva shouted out. "Edward will be staying with you for the next few days due to a little incident which flooded his chambers. I would like all of you to still treat him with respect." She parted the crowd and took Edward to the third floor where the house elves crammed another scarlet four poster bed in the corner. "I am sorry about having to stick you with the third years, but all of the other rooms are full and the spare dorm room has been having trouble keeping out the Puffskeins. There is a bathroom downstairs to the right for when you want to wash up."

With that she left Edward to his own devices in a house full of crazy hyped up teenagers. Edward let out an exhausted sigh and dragged his soaking wet self over to the bed. He opened his bag and clapped his hands, drying itself and the contents off. He grabbed his spare clothes out of it as well as his automail kit and made his way down to the bathrooms. Several of the students were making their ways back to their own beds drunk off of sweets from the party. Edward could still hear Fred and George whooping and hollering in the common room. The bathroom was rather large and decorative compared to his tiny apartment one. There was a common bath which was basically the size of a small swimming pool and then a single tiny shower in the corner with a sign that said _OUT OF ORDER, JINXED SPOUT. _A circular formation of sinks was places in the center of the room with mirrors hanging above them and a row of latrines was off to the left.

Edward was busying himself in the bath, using his automail kit to clean and pick out any dirt that was still jammed underneath the plating. To his surprise, there was a lot. He rotated his shoulder a bit as he tried to clean the back shoulder blade, but it was proving quite difficult. He would have been more comfortable doing this in his own room, but Peeves just had to trash it. Edward went into a silent cursing rant about the bumbling pranking poltergeist.

"Hiya professor!" two identical voices sounded out behind him. Edward jumped out of his skin and nearly punched the two people in the face. They both reeled back from the impact and clenched their heads with their hands.

"Ah ow! What did you go and do that for?" One of them yelped.

"Come off it Fred, at least you didn't get the metal one!" George whined. Edward growled at recognizing who they were.

"That was a fight reaction, don't sneak up on people like that!" he scolded them. While the two of them were blinded he stood up and wrapped a towel around himself and got out of the tub. "What are you two doing here?"

"We were going to be good boys and go brush our teeth, but you just had to punch us in the face!" George whined.

"Some men are shy George," Fred teased. Edward wanted to slap them both upside the head. However, he resisted and gave them both his most evil and threatening glare. He doubted that they were even considering brushing their teeth after all of the candy they were hyped up on. Fred took a good long stare at his metal shoulder, while George took a nice gander at his metal leg. Edward knew what was coming next.

"Whoa these are amazing!" They both started to chant as they examined his limbs. Edward tried to shake them off, but trying to hold up a towel and do that is hard.

"Get off of me!" he growled at them. Fred paused a bit and examined the back shoulder plate of his automail.

"Hey, it looks like you got something jammed in the back here," he said. "You should really clean that out."

"That is what I was doing before you scared me!" Edward shouted at them.

"Hey take it easy, we didn't mean to bite," George assured him. "We can help if you like. It doesn't seem that you can really see while doing this." Edward turned around and eyed the two of them. He didn't want anyone fooling around with his automail, but they didn't have any mischievous grins on their faces besides the ones that they always wore. Edward looked at the time and it was getting late, really late. He sighed.

"Fine," he groaned and the two physics majors jumped with joy. Edward put on his shorts and then let the twins help clean his arm. He did the leg by himself. The two boys seemed to be having way too much fun working with the automail than Edward had expected. It was Winry times two, just without the wrenches.

"So what happened to your chambers, professor?" Fred asked him as he picked a chunk of dirt out.

"Peeves."

"That must have been bad," George said. "It was said that when Peeves had the chance, a few decades ago, he laid siege to the castle for three days. He let you of easy having your room flooded for only a couple."

"Gee, I won't forget that when I am repairing my research notes," Edward mumbled. The twins chuckled at each other. They set down their tools and Edward took a towel to his arm to dry off the metal. He didn't dare use alchemy on it in fear of accidentally boiling a fuse. Fred and George threw the rest of his clothes at him when he was finished. He fumbled with them a bit, but managed to slip his tee over his head. The two of them continued to ask him questions about his arm and leg all the way back to the rooms. Are the detachable? What are they made of? How much do they cost? What do they run off of? Are there different designs? Blah blah blah. As soon as Edward got to the third floor, he smirked at them, thanked them for their help, and then slammed the door in their faces. At least he won't have to worry about them bugging to see his automail again. Edward let out a sigh and turned around. The boys in the dorm, which included Ron and Harry, were chattering excitedly with each other and eating a couple of left over gummy worms. It seemed like they were telling scary stories or something. A few of the boys were staring at his automail which poked out of his shorts and from his shirt. He ignored him and made his way over to his bed. He pulled a mess of his notes out of his bag and started to sort the out in order. The binding was all torn up and tossed about but Edward alchemically zapped it back together. After sorting a few pages out, Edward heard a cry come from across the room.

"Hey Edward, don't you ever take a break from work?" Ron asked him. Edward glared at them and continued to sort papers.

"If I were to stop working, none of it would get done," he mumbled back to them. He heard a scuffling of a few feet and a couple of them walked over to him and basically dragged him out of the bed he was sitting on. His papers went scattered about and he tried to fight them off but couldn't. The boys dragged him over to their little pow wow that they were having and pinned him right between Seamus and Neville. Edward took a little helpless glance back at his bed where he left his work completely undone.

"Come on Edward, tell us a scary story," Seamus begged him and elbowed him lightly in the ribs.

"Ron told us a real good one earlier about a Banshee and a one eyed witch!" Dean said. Ron gave a victorious smirk at them all. Edward knew that the only reason why he could tell such good scary stories was because he was a scaredy cat himself.

"I bet you know some really good ones," Neville said. Everyone started to pester him and prod him to tell them a story. Edward's smile grew a bit and he grinned at them.

"Are you sure you want me out of all people to tell you one?" he asked them mischievously. They all nodded. He eyed them for a bit and then chuckled. "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you."

…..


End file.
